And My Path Led Me To You
by Bill K
Summary: Four children, abandoned by life and society, form a family and go on to become warriors for love and justice.
1. And The Angels Have Claimed Him

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 1: "And The Angels Have Claimed Him"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2019 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2019 by Bill K.

* * *

"Did Usa seem all right to you today?"

Cere spoke from her work station, where she was trying to finish studying for her final exam. For her, Usa and Hotaru, high school was just about over and they were set to graduate - - if they each passed the final exam. Jun still had a year to go, while Ves had two years, assuming she finished at all. Palla-Palla was a special case and would never graduate.

The final was a big moment in Cere's life. She had already applied to Tokyo University to major in botany and was eagerly working with Mizuno-Sensei and Kino-Sensei about setting up a botany lab in the palace. But she just couldn't seem to concentrate at the moment, and for once her ongoing relationship with her manic-depressive artist beau wasn't behind it.

For Usa, Jun and Ves had all gone to the future and fought Sailor Chaos, and when they returned they were different; Usa most of all.

"She's got a lot of stuff on her mind," Jun replied, never taking her eyes off of the web stream she was watching. Jun was streaming news from Brasilia, as she often did.

"Like what stuff?" Cere persisted. Palla-Palla looked up from her doll corner.

"Stuff," Jun answered vaguely.

"Is she still bugged that Sailor Cosmos is her daughter?"

"That's some of it," Jun remarked as she watched the stream. "It's a lot to take in, meeting your daughter from the future."

"So what else?"

Jun didn't answer.

"Jun!" fumed Cere.

"If she hasn't told you," Jun frowned, "it's because it really bothers her. The only reason I know is because I was there. I don't want to spread things that she'd rather not let get out. It's nothing personal, Cere."

"I thought I was part of this team, too," Cere scowled.

"And of course you're going to take it personally," sighed Jun.

"The Princess is upset because the bad Sailor lady stole her crystal," Palla-Palla dutifully reported.

"I wish you could turn that off," Jun scowled.

"Stole her crystal?" Cere asked, perplexed.

Jun pinched her eyes with her fingers.

"Did Palla-Palla do bad?" Palla-Palla asked.

"No!" Cere barked. "Spill, Jun!"

"The Prin . . ." Jun began. "Usa dies in the future. And . . . her pink crystal is corrupted and used to power Sailor Chaos."

"Whoa," Cere gasped softly.

"DON'T spread it around."

"Jun, you act like I'm a gossip!" bristled Cere.

"Yeah," Jun remarked, returning to her stream. "Funny that."

"HMPH!" snorted Cere.

"Does Cere-Cere think The Princess would cheer up if Palla-Palla made her a pretty card that said how much we like her?" Palla-Palla asked.

"It couldn't hurt, Palla-Palla," Cere smiled.

"Yeah, let me sign it when you finish it," Jun added. A news item caught her eye and Jun got very quiet. "Hey, look at that."

"What? Did your favorite author write another e-book?" Cere asked cynically. Then she noticed Palla-Palla suddenly become upset. That told her of the gravity of the situation. Anticipating bad news, she turned back to Jun.

"Father Melendez died," Jun said softly, as if fearing she would raise the dead.

* * *

"Was he someone you knew back in Sao Paulo?" Usa asked. She, Helios and Hotaru were in one of the palace conference rooms, meeting with her four friends, the Asteroids. Jun and Cere were very somber. Palla-Palla had clearly been crying and even now was visibly upset. Ves was sullen and withdrawn.

"He was one of the priests in charge of Tanto Quatro Pai," Cere informed her, "the orphanage where we all met. He sort of ran the place, and he was the most hands on of all the priests there. He'd try to go out of his way to make every orphan there as comfortable as possible."

"I know he was a big help to me," Jun remarked.

"Palla-Palla really liked Father Melendez-Sir a lot," Palla-Palla added, sniffing as she spoke. Ves remained behind her surly wall.

"And we wanted to fly back to Brasilia," Cere continued, "to attend the service. I thought we should run it by you first."

"Yeah, sure!" Usa nodded. "I'll let Mom and Pop know. You need me to come with you?"

"Um," Cere began. The offer had taken her and the others by surprise. "If you want. I know you're dealing with some heavy stuff right now . . ."

"I can brood about that any day," the Princess shrugged in self-deprecation. "I mean, I don't want to intrude. I know this is personal . . ."

"Father Melendez would welcome you," Jun mumbled.

"I'd," Hotaru ventured shyly, "like to come, too. If you don't mind."

"OK," Jun nodded. "The more people there, the better it'll look for his memory. And you're always welcome to come with us, Hotaru."

"Helios?" Usa asked.

"Sadly I fear my presence will cause a distraction," Helios replied, "so I shall stay here. But you all have my best wishes. I knew of Father Melendez through his dreams. He seemed a fine man."

"Then I'll clear it with Pop and the embassy for the six of us to go," Usa said and she rose to leave.

"I'm not going," Ves grunted.

"Ves-Ves! It's Father Melendez-Sir!" howled Palla-Palla.

"You know how he died?" snarled Ves. "Some street punk knifed him outside of a store!"

"So? Why would that keep you away?" Jun asked.

"It's just one more good guy cut down! And a funeral is just a way for everyone to cover it over and pretend it's God's will and it don't make the world a hopeless pool of filth! That it's OK he got shanked over a hundred pesos or something! And they even got the guy who did it, so there's not even THAT reason to be there! 'Cause they're probably not going to let me have some alone time with the little shit! So I'm not going!" She settled back into her sullen mood. "One more good person gone from my - - from life - - for nothing!"

"Ves-Ves!" cried Palla-Palla.

"It's OK, Palla-Palla," Cere said. "Ves can't go anyway. She's not supposed to go back to Brasilia, remember? Because of that thing with Marcelino Acosta."

Usa approached Ves and knelt down next to the chair she was in. Ves stubbornly wouldn't look at her or anyone else.

"Yeah, I forgot you can't go back to Brasilia," Usa told her. "It must be hard for you. I can see this Father Melendez meant something to you. I can set up a satellite feed with my PDA and stream the funeral back here - - if you do decide you want to watch it." She reached out and touched her friend's hand. "And I know it's hard to believe sometimes, but the world isn't hopeless. We're fighting a war against hopeless and we're going to win. No Sailor Chaos's on my watch." She paused for a somber moment. "It's just that in wars, sometimes good people die."

Ves didn't respond. But Usa could see a tear begin to well in the girl's eye and knew it was time to withdraw for her friend's dignity. She got up and headed for the door. Between the influence of The Princess and that of Palla-Palla, the room was clear save for Ves. Ves let her anger and pain simmer for a few moments in the silence of the room. Then she got up, kicked over a chair, and sought the security of her room in the quarters she shared with her sister Amazons.

* * *

"I'll call the embassy and arrange things," Endymion told his daughter. She smiled, warmed by the comfort of her father's calm strength.

"Poor Ves must be suffering so," Serenity remarked from her post at Mamoko's crib. "I really should see if I can do anything for her."

"Uh, Mom, maybe . . ." The Princess began, but the Queen had already glided out the door and was gone. Usa's shoulders slumped. "She never changes, does she?"

"I've always thought that a good thing," Endymion smiled.

"So who's going to chaperone this time, Pop?"

"I don't see the need for a chaperone," Endymion said. His daughter gaped at him. "You and Cere are old enough and mature enough to be on your own. Hotaru and Jun are level-headed enough to help. And, pardon me for saying it, but since Ves won't be with you, I don't see the need."

"You're playing with my head, aren't you?" Usa replied cynically.

"You're a skillful, considerate leader and very mature," Endymion answered, "when you choose to be. You've proven that. My only word of advice would be that we have an excellent embassy staff in Sao Paulo. Use them. Don't feel you have to do everything yourself. And convey the Crown's respects to Father Melendez's family and friends. I'll get you booked on the next intercontinental shuttle."

"I thought we'd just teleport," Usa remarked.

"After what happened with Sailor Chaos? That took a lot out of you," Endymion reminded her. "Use the shuttle. Save your strength."

"Knew it was too good to last," sighed the Princess as she walked out. Endymion smothered a smile as he watched her go.

* * *

Within an hour, five teen girls were booked onto an intercontinental shuttle for Rio de Janeiro. From there they would take a sub-sonic shuttle to Sao Paulo. If there were no delays, the entire trip would take less than two hours. There had been some stir among the other passengers, due to the celebrity of The Princess. But with everyone settled in the private forward cabin Endymion had booked, the travelers had settled in at a round table with plush pressure seats. Both Usa and Hotaru could see their friends were somber, particularly Palla-Palla. They glanced at each other, wondering what each one could do.

"He really must have meant a lot to you, huh?" Hotaru ventured.

"Yeah," Jun responded. "Palla-Palla knew him the longest."

"Really?"

"Palla-Palla," Cere leaned over from her seat. "Do you remember when you first met Father Melendez?"

"Yes, Palla-Palla does," the girl replied softly.

"Do you want to tell Hotaru and Usa about those days?" she asked. "So they can get a better idea of what Father Melendez was like?"

"If you'd rather not," Hotaru began.

"Palla-Palla will do it," the teen nodded. "Palla-Palla doesn't really like to think of those days - - but not because of Father Melendez-Sir. She likes thinking about him."

* * *

_May 14, 2987_

_Sister Conchata Arcia looked up from her desk in the administration office of Tanto Quatro Pai, the church-run orphanage in Sao Paulo, Brasilia. Standing in the doorway were three people. The man was an officer of the Sao Paulo police. He was forty-six and overweight, with thinning black hair and a thin mustache. From the look of him, he was an administrative officer and probably hadn't drawn his laser pistol in ten years._

_The woman with him was Maria Reynoso, a case-worker with the government Children's Welfare ministry. Reynoso was a familiar face at Tanto Quatro Pai, often dropping off children taken into protective custody by the state and placed at the orphanage. Placement could last anywhere from thirty days to until the child was eighteen. She was short, thin, tired, with long straight black hair and a bionic hand to replace the one she'd lost due to a birth defect, for in the poorer parts of Brasilia there were still birth defects._

"_Good afternoon, Sister Arcia," Reynoso said as pleasantly as she could manage. Arcia could tell it had been a long day for her. "Room at the inn for one more?"_

"_Is this the girl you texted about?" Arcia asked as she rose from her desk. Arcia was fifty-six. She was five feet four and one-hundred ten pounds and had been a nun since she was sixteen. Her faith in God remained firm, but after forty years her faith in humanity waned occasionally. Arcia glanced at a hologram of the text. "Athene Santos Melo, age six."_

_She glanced at the young girl between Reynoso and the officer for the first time. The girl seemed like a normal shy, slightly pudgy six year old - - except for the blue hair._

"_Why do you have blue hair?" Sister Arcia asked. The child didn't answer. She seemed intimidated by her surroundings. "Come on, speak up. Was your mother or father in the chemical disaster of '84? Usually the hair is green."_

"_Palla-Palla's mommy has black hair," the child mumbled. "Palla-Palla doesn't know who her daddy is."_

"_Who is 'Palla-Palla'?"_

_The child's eyes were glued to the floor. "Palla-Palla is Palla-Palla."_

_Arcia looked up at Reynoso. "Is this child mentally disabled?"_

"_We've begun to suspect that," Reynoso answered. "A preliminary EEG scan was done at the hospital and it scanned very low in MRN and WHS."_

_For a moment, Sister Arcia thought about turning them away. Life at Tanto Quatro Pai could be difficult, caring for as many children as they did, many from broken homes or violent pasts. But she relented; it was what Jesus would do._

"_I'll have the staff physician look her over more thoroughly," Arcia sighed. "We'll have to bill you for that." She brought up a virtual keyboard. "She said there's no father present. What happened to the mother?"_

"_We're still researching that," Reynoso admitted. "The girl was found abandoned in a grocery store on Montez Boulivard. No sign of parent or guardian."_

"_Mommy had to go get something," young Palla-Palla spoke up._ _"She told Palla-Palla to wait for her and she would come back. Palla-Palla has to go back to the store so her mommy can find her!"_

"_Now we discussed this," Reynoso said, kneeling down to the child dressed only in a yellow short-sleeved blouse and blue shorts. "You were there all day. We can't just leave you there. The police are looking for your mommy and when they find her they'll bring her here. But until then, you have to stay here where you'll be safe._"

_Palla-Palla didn't respond. She just dropped her eyes to the floor again._

"_Did the girl have any sort of identification?" Arcia asked._

"_We found a sub-dural ID chip with her birth records," Reynoso explained. "It was probably placed there by the doctor who delivered her. Unfortunately it's incomplete. It doesn't list either parent. We're trying to track down the mother using both the names 'Melo' and 'Santos', but so far no luck." And she appealed silently to the nun._

"_OK," Arcia sighed and spun the virtual screen around so it faced the caseworker. "You know where to sign."_

_After Reynoso signed, she and the officer left. Palla-Palla stood anxiously by the door, wondering what would happen next._

"_Come over here, Athene," Sister Arcia said. But Palla-Palla didn't move. "Athene. Athene, I'm speaking to you. It's rude to ignore someone."_

"_Were you talking to Palla-Palla?" the girl asked._

"_Yes. Don't you even know your own name?"_

"_Yes, ma'am. It's Palla-Palla."_

"_No, your name is Athene."_

"_Yes, that's what Palla-Palla said," she replied innocently. Arcia stared for a moment._

"_Oh, this is going to be fun," the nun muttered._

_Later on, a weary nun led an anxious girl with blue hair down a corridor. Stopping at one of the doors lining the hall, Sister Arcia pressed on the old-fashioned door handle and opened the door. Inside was a dormitory setting with six bunk beds. The room housed eleven girls ranging in age from five to thirteen. The girls all turned to them and eyed the new girl suspiciously. _

"_Girls, this is Athene," Arcia announced. "She prefers the nickname of 'Palla-Palla', though." Several of the girls giggled, drawing a stern look from the nun. "She'll be staying with us. Please treat her the way Jesus Our Lord would expect you to treat someone." She led Palla-Palla over to one of the bunks. "This is your dresser. We'll get you some clothes to put in it. You'll be sharing it with Belinda here, so be respectful and don't take more than your share of the space."_

"_Yes, Sister Arcia-Ma'am," Palla-Palla nodded, though she still seemed anxious and intimidated._

"_Sister Arcia will do," Arcia sighed. "You can sleep in the bottom bunk here."_

"_But that's my bunk!" howled Belinda, a black-haired ten year old with angry eyes._

"_Athene has special needs and I don't want to risk her falling out of the top bunk," Arcia explained. _

"_But . . .!"_

"_You're not demonstrating a Christian attitude, Belinda," Arcia said._

"_But . . .!"_

"_IT'S DECIDED!" snapped Arcia._

_Sullenly the girl ascended to the top bunk. She lay down and glared at Palla-Palla._

"_The bathroom is through that door," Arcia pointed. "Breakfast is at eight. Please be ready."_

_As Arcia left, turning out the light, Palla-Palla climbed into the bunk. The girl curled up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest as her head rested on the well-used pillow._

"_Please come back soon, Mommy," she whispered as tears bubbled in her eyes._

_Continued in Chapter 2_


	2. Lonely Days

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 2: "Lonely Days"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"There's Hawaii!" gasped Jun, peering out the port of the Intercontinental Shuttle.

"How can you tell? We're six miles up," Cere challenged. "All I see are clouds."

"Because I know my geography," Jun retorted. "And the clouds part for me."

Cere wrinkled her nose at Jun, then glanced over at Palla-Palla. The teen was still engaged in relating her time at Tanto Quatro Pai and both Usa and Hotaru were listening enraptured. Cere settled back and placed the music transmitter disks on her temples. She knew the stories Palla-Palla was telling.

She just hoped the memories wouldn't upset Palla-Palla even more.

* * *

_Palla-Palla woke up and looked around. Immediately her anxiety rose because she wasn't in her familiar bedroom in the apartment she lived in with her mother. The girl lay on the bunk, terrified, for several minutes before she remembered that this was the dormitory in the orphanage. She looked around. All of the other children were gone. And her mother was still missing. Helpless to know what to do, the girl just lay in the bunk with her knees pulled to her chest._

_After an undetermined time, Sister Arcia poked her head in the room. Her stern gaze focused on the girl._

"_What are you doing still in bed?" Arcia demanded. "Didn't I tell you that breakfast was at eight?"_

"_Maybe. Palla-Palla doesn't remember," the young girl offered._

"_Well, I did," Arcia stated. Then she waited. Palla-Palla didn't move. "Well?"_

"_P-Palla-Palla doesn't know what to do."_

"_The same thing you do at home in the morning," Arcia replied. "You get up, take a shower and clean yourself, comb your hair, get dressed and come to breakfast." She noticed Palla-Palla's growing confusion. "What is it now?"_

"_Mommy used to do all that stuff for Palla-Palla," the girl whimpered._

"_Maria, you owe me for this," Arcia sighed. "Very well. Come along. I'll show you what to do."_

_Palla-Palla timidly climbed out of the bunk and came over to the nun. Arcia reached down and clasped the girl's hand. _

"_And pay very close attention to what we do," Arcia added sternly. "Because tomorrow you're going to do it by yourself."_

"_But Palla-Palla's not sure she can!" Palla-Palla wailed._

"_We're never sure until we try," Arcia replied. "Success grows from the soil of perseverance."_

"_P-pers . . .what?" Palla-Palla asked._

"_We keep trying until we do it," Arcia told her._

_As they headed, hand in hand, to the bathroom, Palla-Palla looked up at the nun. She sensed the child staring and looked down at her._

"_Your brother will get better," Palla-Palla said suddenly. Sister Arcia stopped and stared down at the blue-haired girl._

"_What did you say?" she gasped. "How do you know about that?"_

"_Did Palla-Palla's mommy come for her?" Palla-Palla asked hopefully._

"_What do you know of my brother?" Arcia demanded._

"_Huh?" Palla-Palla replied. Her vacant stare, much like a child younger than six, made Arcia wonder if she'd heard the girl right. They continued on to the bathroom._

_But when they were done, Sister Arcia intended to place a call to the hospice where her brother was staying._

* * *

_By the time Palla-Palla and Sister Arcia had emerged from the bathroom and gone to the dining area, everyone else was finishing up. At Arcia's direction, the cafeteria attendant dished out a meal onto Palla-Palla's tray: oatmeal, sliced fruit, some bread and milk. The nun escorted her over to a table. Palla-Palla sat down and stared at the meal. _

"_Eat," Arcia prodded her._

"_Mommy always made Palla-Palla a bowl of Sugar Bombs," Palla-Palla pouted._

"_This is far more nutritious than Sugar Bombs," Arcia replied._

"_Can't Palla-Palla have Sugar Bombs?"_

"_No."_

"'_Can't Palla-Palla have Sugar Bombs?'" Belinda mocked as she left. The three girls with her all giggled derisively._

"_Palla-Palla," Sister Arcia began, trying to stay calm. "We do the best we can to provide nutritious meals to all of the children in our charge on the limited funds we have. This may not appeal to your sweet tooth, but it's good for you. And it would be rude to refuse it." She leaned in for emphasis. "Unless you prefer to go hungry."_

_Palla-Palla's lower lip curled into a pout. But she picked up a slice of fruit and slipped it into her mouth._

"_Use a fork, please," Arcia said, handing the utensil to her. "When you're finished, take your tray over there so it can be washed. And don't dawdle. You have a test at nine a.m. to see where you need to be placed in school."_

"_What's school?" Palla-Palla asked, a clump of oatmeal in her mouth._

"_Well I guess that answers that question," Arcia sighed. "Now don't talk with your mouth full. Be in room 12 at nine a.m., and you mustn't be late."_

_Sister Arcia rose from the table and headed out, leaving Palla-Palla alone in the cafeteria, save for the kitchen workers impatiently waiting for her to finish. The girl tried to figure out how to use the fork, couldn't, and picked up another slice of fruit with her fingers. A sense of isolation began to develop in her. She picked up the glass of milk with both hands and drank some. As she put it down, the sound of the glass against the table seemed to echo in the room._

"_Palla-Palla wishes Mommy would come," she thought, bringing another scoop of the bland oatmeal to her mouth. "And Palla-Palla wonders what 'dawdle' means."_

* * *

"That's so sad, Palla-Palla," Hotaru observed. "You must have been so lonely there."

"Palla-Palla doesn't remember," Palla-Palla mumbled. "She just remembers that she didn't like it there at first."

"I understand," Hotaru said. "Things weren't very pleasant for me in school back then, either. Not a lot of kids wanted to be around me."

"It was the opposite for me," Usa remarked. "Everybody wanted to be near me, to see me, to touch me, to take their picture with me. It got so bad that Pop just cut me off from everybody. I know he did it to protect me, because even now there are some people who cross the line - - and that's on top of the whole 'Black Moon' thing - - but it made for some lonely times until Momo showed up."

"Did it ever get better?" Hotaru asked Palla-Palla.

"Yes, Hotaru-Chan, it did," Palla-Palla nodded. "Palla-Palla met Father Melendez-Sir."

* * *

_Sister Arcia turned around and found Palla-Palla standing in the doorway._

"_How long have you been there?" Arcia asked._

"_Since nine a.m.," Palla-Palla told her. "Palla-Palla has to come to room 12 at nine a.m. She mustn't be late."_

"_Well you're punctual, at least," Arcia concluded. "Sit down at that desk, in front of that computer station."_

_Reluctantly Palla-Palla complied. She looked at the computer in front of her with doubt and suspicion. In her short life she'd seen computer stations, but she'd never used one and they, like a lot of things in the world that were unknown to her, intimidated her. As she stared, a man swept in._

"_Father Melendez," Arcia nodded, "this is the girl I was telling you about."_

"_Ah, Athene," Melendez smiled, kneeling next to her seat so he could be eye to eye with her. Palla-Palla glanced at him, then went back to staring at the computer monitor._

"_She answers to Palla-Palla, Father," Arcia informed him._

"_Oh. My apologies, Palla-Palla. I hope I haven't offended you."_

_And he smiled again. Palla-Palla looked at him. He seemed to smile easily. Melendez was forty-seven with thick black hair, caramel skin and an attractive face beginning to line with age and stress. He was of medium build, unremarkable save for his face. Melendez had kind eyes and a warm smile. Palla-Palla continued to look. She had known very few males in her short life and she didn't know what to make of this one._

"_I am Father Melendez," he told her, then gestured to the computer. "This device will tell us how much you already know. That will tell us what we need to teach you while you're with us and what you already have."_

"_But," she began, "Palla-Palla isn't going to be here very long. Just until her mommy picks her up."_

_Melendez tried to hide it, but his eyes grew sad. "Well, while you're here, we may as well use the time to help you learn what you'll need to know in life. There's no sense in wasting the opportunity."_

_He handed Palla-Palla a microphone._

"_Since I doubt you know how to type, we'll use this," he said. "The computer will ask you some questions. Answer them to the best of your ability by speaking into this. Now don't be afraid. There's no grade on this and you can't fail. We just want to find out how much you know. Do you understand?"_

"_Palla-Palla thinks so," the girl mumbled._

_Melendez smiled again, then pressed a crystal stud on the computer. Symbols appeared on the screen. Palla-Palla frowned at them._

"_You don't know how to read yet?" Melendez asked. Palla-Palla shook her head. "It's all right. That's something we need to teach you." He pressed another crystal on the computer._

"_What is this letter?" the computer asked, flashing an 'A' on the screen. Palla-Palla's eyes grew to saucers._

"_Just speak into the microphone," Melendez encouraged her. "If you don't know, say so."_

"_Palla-Palla doesn't know," she mumbled. The screen shifted to the digit one._

"_What is this number?" the computer asked in a calm, feminine voice._

"_That's a one," Palla-Palla replied confidently._

"_What is this number?"_

"_That's two!"_

"_What is one plus one?"_

"_Two!" Palla-Palla proclaimed. She looked over at Father Melendez. He gave her an approving nod and she beamed back at him._

* * *

"_Well, we have to remember that the child is only six," Arcia commented as they reviewed the test results. "And from what she said, the girl has never been to school. The parent probably neglected such things." She scowled. "Just like she neglected teaching the girl basic hygiene and manners."_

"_No, it goes beyond that," Father Melendez surmised. "If you pair the test scores with the neurological scans from Dr. Valdez, it's clear this girl suffers from severe organic mental retardation. I can't imagine what caused it."_

"_So she's never going to get better?"_

"_I think we can teach her some things. She already has a savant-level facility with numbers. And she can probably learn some social skills with patience. But it will take work just to bring her up to the level of a normal six year old, and I don't think she'll progress beyond that."_

"_Then I should call the state hospital," Arcia declared. _

"_You would turn her out? That's not a very Christian thought, Sister," Melendez gently chided her._

"_We're not equipped to deal with someone like her," Arcia countered. "The state hospital is."_

"_And what if the mother should turn up looking for her?"_

"_The mother is never coming back. She was probably a child herself, saddled with a special needs child she couldn't cope with. She might have even been an addict. That would explain the neglect. This girl is a ward of the state until she's of age. It'll either be here or at the state hospital." She looked directly at Melendez. "Don't condemn me for speaking the truth."_

"_It's not much of a life," Melendez mused. "Growing up in sterile conditions amid addicts and people with mental conditions. There aren't many children at the state hospital."_

"_They can help her," Arcia maintained._

"_So can we," Melendez argued. "There is a power in a loving family setting, Sister_. _And there is power in kindness. It's a power that can heal, a power that can grow life from fallow soil. Jesus knew this. Palla-Palla will never grow up to go to college. She will never make her mark in the annals of academics. But with our help, she can grow up to be happy and through that happiness spread God's love to whomever she meets."_

"_That's easy for you to say," Arcia sighed. "You're not the one who is going to be getting her up for breakfast every morning."_

"_I take full responsibility for her," Melendez smiled. "And whenever you need my help with her, you need only ask."_

* * *

_While the Father and Sister were discussing her case, Palla-Palla fidgeted impatiently on a chair outside of the office. As she waited, Palla-Palla could sense that Sister Arcia didn't like her. She had always had a strange sense about who did and didn't like her. Father Melendez, on the other hand, was very nice. He was as nice as the clerk in the store who came up to her and asked about her mother._

_Thinking about her mother brought another pang to the girl. Though time was something she didn't understand, she knew enough to know that her mother had been gone a long time; longer than the other times she'd gone off. Sometime recently, though she didn't know when, her mother would act strange for periods. She would be sleeping with her eyes opened for periods and Palla-Palla could see her mother's strange dreams in her head._

"_Look, it's the 'Low Achiever'," snorted one of the girls as several passed by. Belinda was one of them. They stopped and looked down at Palla-Palla, and she could sense their malice. "Is that why you can't talk right?"_

_Palla-Palla didn't answer. She just looked at them suspiciously._

"_And where did you get a goofy name like that?" another girl asked. The girls were a mix of ages, Belinda the youngest at ten and the oldest thirteen. "It's doesn't sound Portuguese." They waited for her to answer. "Do - you - speak?"_

_Still the girl wouldn't respond._

"_Why aren't you doing chores?" Belinda asked. "We all have responsibilities in Quatro Pai."_

"_Sister Arcia-Ma'am told Palla-Palla to sit and wait for her," Palla-Palla responded. "What are chores?"_

"_God, she is stupid!" snickered one of the girls. The others giggled, except for Belinda. She just glared. _

"_I don't know why they're trying to place her," another chuckled. "Start her at the bottom, with all the other Low Achievers."_

"_Why don't you like Palla-Palla?" she asked, the hurt creeping out in her voice._

"_Because you're stupid!" sneered one of the girls._

"_And homely," added another._

_Palla-Palla didn't acknowledge them. She focused squarely on Belinda._

"_Because," Belinda sputtered, "you get special treatment! You get my bunk! You don't have to show up for breakfast on time! You don't have to go to school! You don't have to do chores! And all because you're too stupid to understand!"_

"_That's mean!" Palla-Palla wailed, tears bubbling at her eyelids. Something snapped in Belinda and she slapped Palla-Palla across the face. The girls with her were initially shocked, but quickly began laughing._

_Then the door opened and Sister Arcia emerged._

"_Here now!" she roared. "What's going on here?"_

"_S-She hit Palla-Palla!" the blue-haired girl cried. The red welt on her cheek lent credence to her charge. Sister Arcia turned on the girls and they instantly shrank back._

"_Have you girls finished your assignments?" she snarled. "If so, I can find other things for you to do!" The four girls started to hurry off. "Belinda! Stay!"_

_Belinda stopped in her tracks and turned back to Sister Arcia anxiously._

"_Extend your hand," Arcia said._

"_But Sister . . .!" Belinda began._

"_Extend - your - hand!"_

_Reluctantly Belinda raised her right arm, baring the back of her hand to the nun. As if by magic, from under her habit Sister Arcia produced a ruler and viciously struck the hand. Belinda pulled it back, whimpering. Palla-Palla winced at the blow. Even Father Melendez, watching from the doorway, grimaced. _

"_You will immediately go to the Confessional and confess your sins," Arcia commanded. "You will do all penance given to you. And you will REFLECT on what brought you to this point in the first place. Go."_

_Quickly Belinda scurried off. Sister Arcia turned to Palla-Palla and for a moment the girl feared she was next. But the woman touched Palla-Palla's shoulder gently._

"_She was mad at Palla-Palla because Palla-Palla didn't do chores," Palla-Palla explained. "What are chores?"_

"_It's work we do to maintain our home," Arcia smiled, her demeanor radically different than a few moments ago, "and to keep the devil at bay." She extended her hand. "Come. Let me show you what they are so we can see if you're good at any of them."_

_Palla-Palla glanced over at Father Melendez. He smiled and nodded. Palla-Palla took the extended hand, scooted off the seat and allowed Arcia to lead her away._

_Continued in Chapter 3_


	3. Turn The Other Cheek

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 3: "Turn The Other Cheek"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"And it was like that your whole time there?" Hotaru asked.

"Palla-Palla isn't sure," Palla-Palla said, her mood muted. "Her memory is kind of fuzzy about a lot of things because she's stupid."

"And did this Belinda person leave you alone after that?"

"No," Palla-Palla said softly. "Linda-Linda didn't like Palla-Palla. Not a lot of the other kids liked Palla-Palla. Palla-Palla tried to like them, because Father Melendez-Sir said it was a good thing to love everybody. But not a lot of the others loved Palla-Palla back."

"Because of your handicap?" Usa asked.

"Maybe," Palla-Palla shrugged. "Maybe because Linda-Linda and the others made fun of the kids who played with Palla-Palla. Palla-Palla isn't sure."

"Sounds rough," Hotaru sympathized. "But at least you had Father Melendez, right?"

A small smile bloomed on Palla-Palla's face.

* * *

"_Good morning, Father Melendez-Sir!" Palla-Palla chirped upon seeing the priest in the hall._

"_Good morning, Palla-Palla," Melendez smiled as he so often did. He knelt down to the eight year old, who was a good two feet shorter than he was. "Did you wash up and comb your hair yourself this morning?"_

_Palla-Palla nodded proudly. It had taken Sister Arcia a good eight months to teach her how to get herself ready for breakfast and be in the dining hall on time. But once the morning routine was established in her mind, Palla-Palla was up every day without needing to be awakened and the first one in the communal bathroom. And at eight on the dot she was in line for breakfast, so much so that one could set a watch by her._

"_And did you enjoy breakfast?" he asked._

_Palla-Palla's happy pride shriveled. She swallowed anxiously._

"_It was very nutritious," she parroted, recalling a response Sister Arcia had taught her, "and a blessing from God that Palla-Palla is grateful for." Left unspoken, for they had discovered in two years that Palla-Palla seemed incapable of lying, that the orphanage breakfast would never, ever, replace Sugar Bombs in the girl's heart._

"_Well said," Melendez smirked. "So where are you off to now?"_

"_Palla-Palla has to clean the bathroom with Nor-Nor and Ana-Ana. That's her chore for today," she told him proudly._

"_No doubt you will do it very well," Melendez nodded. Palla-Palla beamed. "You will be done in time for school, right?"_

"_One p.m. Palla-Palla mustn't be late," Palla-Palla chirped. "Father Melendez-Sir?"_

"_Yes?" Melendez asked warily._

"_Has Palla-Palla's mommy come for her yet?"_

_It was the question Father Melendez always dreaded, because it was the question she asked of him every day since she'd come to Tanto Quatro Pai. Every day he knew he had to tell her no and break her heart again. And somehow, in some way, she always seemed to sense his answer before he could give it and her hope would deflate just a little._

"_No, my child," he said, seeing her deflate even as he began to speak. "Not yet. Perhaps tomorrow. Where there is life, there is hope."_

_Palla-Palla nodded, then scampered off to the dormitory to begin cleaning the bathroom. Father Melendez watched her go, rising to his feet._

"_Lord, what is your plan for her, that makes you put her through such pain?" he softly wondered._

_Later that afternoon, Father Melendez was headed for one of the classrooms in the orphanage. There he taught elementary level Portuguese, math and basic computer literacy to the children under ten in the facility. The fourth hour of their four hour session was devoted to the Catholic Religion as mandated by the Bishop. Brasilia was still a majority Catholic country, though there were scattered factions of Quexalcotal devotees, Elvans, Protestants and "Serenes", westerners who worshiped the Japanese Queen Serenity as a god. It was the Bishop's wish that Brasilia remain majority Catholic, hence the mandatory course._

_As he turned a corner, Melendez saw at the far end of the hall that Palla-Palla was pressed into a doorway as if she were hiding. Concerned, the priest approached her as silently as he could. But before he could reach her and speak, Palla-Palla turned to him and gestured for quiet._

"_What troubles you, Palla-Palla?" he asked. _

_Palla-Palla didn't answer and Melendez quickly saw why. Passing through the connecting hall, headed for the dormitory, was the clique of teen girls that included twelve year old Belinda. At once they noticed Palla-Palla and seemed about to speak. Then they noticed Father Melendez and continued on._

"_Have they been bothering you again, Palla-Palla?" he asked._

"_Sometimes," she replied reluctantly. "Palla-Palla is sorry if she would have been late for class, but she heard them coming and . . . well. . ."_

"_Wished to avoid a conflict?" Melendez asked._

_She nodded._

"_Sometimes discretion is the best means to avoid pointless violence," Melendez told her. "Jesus the Son would look kindly upon you for that." He held out his hand and she took it. They strolled to the classroom together. "Please don't carry ill will for them in your heart. They act this way because they don't know better. It's my failing that I haven't managed to erase their fear and ignorance. But I will try again."_

"_Palla-Palla knows they do it because they don't think they're pretty enough or smart enough," Palla-Palla told him. "Or that Palla-Palla is going to steal her stuff, like Linda-Linda thinks. Palla-Palla wishes she could make them understand that she's not mean and won't make them sad. But Palla-Palla's not smart enough to make them understand."_

"_You seem very smart to me if you realize so much about them," Melendez offered with a smile._

"_Palla-Palla heard it," the girl replied and Melendez assumed she had overheard a confession or confessions._

"_It's difficult dealing with the wrath of another, Palla-Palla," he advised. "Difficult not to respond in kind."_

"_What does 'wrath' mean?" Palla-Palla asked. Melendez smothered a smile._

"_Anger. A desire for revenge. Or venting your anger on another to make yourself feel better." He stopped and Palla-Palla looked up to him. "But it doesn't. It's the Devil's trick to make people hate you and make you hate yourself."_

"_What would Mr. Jesus-Sir do?" Palla-Palla wondered out loud._

"_Turn the other cheek," Melendez responded and got a quizzical look from the girl. "A smile turneth away wrath. When someone is unkind to you, give them a smile and a gentle word of forgiveness. That is what He would do."_

"_And they'll stop?"_

"_Perhaps not at first," Melendez told her. "But such a response will stop the hatred from spreading. It will make you a stronger, better person. And, in seeing how filled with the Lord's love you are, perhaps it will inspire them to open themselves to God's love as well."_

"_Well what if they hit Palla-Palla?" she asked innocently._

"_You must not respond in kind, for that will only make things worse. Forgiveness is your salvation and theirs," he said. Then he smiled. "But you also have my permission to tell Sister Arcia."_

_And the pair entered the classroom. Melendez glanced up at the chronometer. The time was 1 p.m._

* * *

_Young Belinda, twelve years old and already beginning to bloom enough that she'd gotten "the talk" from one of the nuns - - thankfully not Sister Arcia - - entered the dormitory aimlessly. Her girlfriends were all off with Sister Arcia, helping out at a local kitchen for the poor, and not by choice. Since reaching the age of twelve, she was heavily segregated from the boys she'd grown up around. Since "the talk" she knew why._

_And she wondered if she could attract the attention of any boy anyway. She was skinny as a rod, gangly, awkward, her only, to her, comely feature being her thick black hair. And even it was more coarse than she liked it. No boy would be interested in her. Just like nobody would ever adopt her now that she was twelve. What few came around looking to adopt were only interested in the younger ones._

_And there was no way she would go back to her mother; not after what that woman had done. Belinda would kill herself first. She didn't care what Father Melendez said._

_Entering the room, she saw Palla-Palla sitting on her bunk with two other girls, newer children both age five. The three were all struggling to read a picture book. The two new girls looked up and saw Belinda, then got up and moved away. Palla-Palla stopped for a moment, watched her reading friends move away, then went back to struggling with the book. She didn't look at Belinda. Belinda climbed up onto the top bunk without looking at Palla-Palla._

"_Would you stop," Belinda grunted after a while. "You can't read it, so stop trying."_

"_Palla-Palla wants to know the bunny rabbit makes it back to his home through the white stuff," Palla-Palla said._

"_Why?"_

"_She just wants to. And Sister Arcia-Ma'am says Palla-Palla should keep trying or she'll never get good at something."_

"_Sister Arcia is full of it," Belinda huffed._

"_And Father Melendez-Sir says that Palla-Palla should do things that make her happy, so long as it doesn't make other people sad."_

"_Then knock it off," Belinda grunted. "You're annoying the Hell out of me."_

"_Palla-Palla is sorry," she murmured._

_Belinda rolled over on her bunk and contemplated being stuck there until she was of age, and what would become of her then. The horrors of her past seemed to shroud her future in bleak colors._

"_Palla-Palla is sorry for what your mommy did to you."_

_And in an instant Belinda was off her bunk and standing beside the lower one._

"_What did you say?" growled Belinda._

"_Palla-Palla is sorry that your mommy hurt you," the girl said innocently. _

"_What do you know about it? Who told you?" demanded Belinda._

"_Maybe Belinda should forgive her mommy," Palla-Palla offered. "Father Melendez-Sir says we should forgive people who hurt us so we don't have bad thoughts that hurt us more."_

"_Father Melendez can take his advice and jam it!" Belinda snapped. "What does he know about anything? And what do you know about anything? You're just a runty little low achiever! Just because you're too stupid to realize what an awful place this world is doesn't mean you can tell me how to live!"_

"_Palla-Palla was just trying to help."_

"_Why? All I've ever done is be cruel to you! And you're too stupid to even realize it! You run around with that dopey grin all the time because you're too stupid to understand how rotten your life is! You're short! You're homely! You're brainless! Your mother abandoned you!"_

"_Mommy just went away," Palla-Palla whimpered. "She's coming back for Palla-Palla soon."_

"_NO SHE'S NOT!" snarled Belinda. "And you're too stupid to realize it!"_

_Palla-Palla sniffed, her eyes watering and her lip quivering._

"_Palla-Palla forgives . . ."_

_And Belinda viciously struck her across the face._

"_Don't - you - dare!" Belinda snapped. "I don't need your forgiveness and I don't need your help!"_

_Then she stormed out of the dormitory. The two five year olds who had been cowering on the far bunk came over to Palla-Palla._

"_Did she hurt you?" Luisa asked. Palla-Palla just stared at the now empty doorway._

"_You need to tell Sister Arcia," Teresa told her. "Sister Arcia will put her in her place."_

"_She can't do that," Luisa chided the other girl. "Those girls Belinda runs around with will get her if she does."_

_Palla-Palla got up and headed for the door. Luisa and Teresa watched her go with trepidation swirling around them._

_Father Melendez was in his office, working on the monthly finances with Father Romo and Sister Velazquez. There was a knock on the door._

"_Come in," he remarked. When the door opened, but nobody answered, the priest looked up and found Palla-Palla standing in the doorway. Instantly he could tell the girl was upset. The welt on her cheek told him why. _

"_Excuse me, please," he told the others and came over to Palla-Palla. "Palla-Palla, who hit you?"_

_Palla-Palla looked down, reluctant to say. Thinking the room was too crowded, Melendez escorted her to another room where they could talk in private._

"_You don't have to be afraid to say," Melendez told her. "I won't punish the person if you don't want me to. But you mustn't keep this burden to yourself."_

"_It was Linda-Linda," Palla-Palla murmured. "Palla-Palla made her angry and she hit Palla-Palla. Palla-Palla didn't mean to do it. She was just trying to help."_

"_I'm sure you were," Melendez told her. _

"_Palla-Palla doesn't understand."_

"_Well, Belinda has suffered in her life," Melendez tried to explain, "and that suffering has poisoned her soul. And it makes her angry, and that anger makes her do bad things. She's not happy and I guess she doesn't want anyone else to be happy if she can't be."_

"_No," Palla-Palla shook her head and then looked up at Melendez with the most fearful expression. "Palla-Palla doesn't mean that. Palla-Palla means Linda-Linda's mommy. How could she do something like that to her little girl?"_

"_You know what happened?" Melendez asked, surprised. "Belinda told you this?"_

"_Palla-Palla heard it," the girl scowled, looking away. "She didn't mean to."_

"_I'm surprised she shared it with anyone. I don't even know exactly what happened, just that her mother was put in prison for it."_

"_But why, Father Melendez-Sir!" Palla-Palla cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why would Linda-Linda's mommy do that to her?"_

_Melendez put his hand on Palla-Palla's head, as if he were blessing her._

"_Because she didn't see the light of God's love," Melendez replied softly, "and let the darkness consume her. When that happens, people like her will do dark things because they have no love within them." He knelt down so he was facing Palla-Palla directly. "Sometimes they're too far gone to ever see the light, and we have to put them in a place where they can't hurt anyone or hurt themselves. But we must keep trying. It may be too late for Belinda's mother to be saved, but I pray it isn't too late for Belinda. That's why I keep trying to reach her, to show her God's light. That's why all the other nuns and staff try, too. And I hope you'll try. Because, Palla-Palla, you have a special way about you that none of us have. And you may be able to bring salvation to her where we fail. Please forgive her and please keep trying to show her the light of God that shines so brightly in you."_

"_Palla-Palla will try," the girl nodded. "Thank you, Father Melendez-Sir."_

_Melendez watched her walk off, then went looking for Belinda. So far Palla-Palla was saved, but his work wasn't done with Belinda._

* * *

_A few days later, Sister Arcia was walking down the hall from the small chapel in the orphanage to the administration room. There had been a fight in the boys' dormitory between two twelve year old boys. After breaking it up, she determined that it had been just one more testosterone-fueled fight over territory and dominance. The two combatants were subjected to Sister Arcia's legendary ruler, then roughly escorted to the chapel so one of the priests could hear their confessions and assign penance. On the way back, the nun couldn't help but ponder just how evolved the human species was from other animals if things like this still happened._

"_Sister Arcia-Ma'am!" she heard a cry and turned. Palla-Palla was running up to her and the girl was frantic._

"_Haven't I told you that it's 'Sister Arcia'?" she frowned._

"_Yes, Sister Arcia-Ma'am!" Palla-Palla exclaimed. The nun frowned._

"_What is it?" she sighed._

"_Come quick! Please, come quick!"_

"_Palla-Palla, calm down," the nun told her._

"_Please, Sister Arcia-Ma'am has to come quick!" Palla-Palla entreated._

"_I have to come 'quickly'," she corrected._

"_Yes, she does! She does!" Palla-Palla gasped. "Please!"_

"_All right," Arcia said, wondering what had excited the girl so. Knowing Palla-Palla, it could be anything. "Lead on."_

_Palla-Palla turned and ran down the hall._

"_Palla-Palla, don't run!" Arcia reprimanded her. _

_Palla-Palla slowed to a quick walk for three paces, then began to run again. Turning a corner, Arcia found her standing in the doorway of a utility closet. Seeing how distraught she was, Arcia quickened her pace. If this turned out to be something trivial . . ._

"_Sweet Mary and Joseph," the nun gasped when she looked inside. Then she lunged past Palla-Palla, grabbing Belinda's body to support it while she tried to work the homemade noose from around her throat. "GET FATHER MELENDEZ!"_

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. A Greater Plan

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 4: "A Greater Plan"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Usa and Hotaru stared in shock at Palla-Palla. Even Jun and Cere, sitting across the aisle from them on the intercontinental flight, were shocked and astounded. They'd heard tales of Palla-Palla's early days at the orphanage, but they hadn't heard this one.

"Oh no!" Hotaru gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Was she all right?"

"Attention passengers," the pilot spoke over the ship-wide intercom, "we are effecting re-entry. Please fasten your seat harness. This ship will be docking at Buenos Aires Port in ten minutes."

Dutifully Palla-Palla buckled her harness just like Cere had shown her. She looked up and saw everyone still staring at her.

"Everyone needs to do what Mr. Pilot-Sir says," she cautioned them.

Shaken from their reverie, the other girls complied and strapped in. Once they did that, their gaze returned to Palla-Palla. She just stared back blankly.

"So?" Jun demanded. "What happened with Belinda?"

* * *

_Sister Arcia exited the orphanage chapel lost in thought. She had just finished praying for Belinda. Now she prayed that it would help. As she wandered down the hall, the nun couldn't help wondering if she could have seen the girl's suicide attempt coming. Belinda had always been troubled and angry. Arcia had always figured instilling discipline in the girl would suppress that and mold her into a sociable human being. But the rage the girl harbored ran deeper than Arcia had guessed._

_What could the girl's mother have done to inspire such darkness within Belinda? The possibilities repelled Arcia. _

"_Sister Arcia-Ma'am," came a shy squeak behind her._

_Arcia turned around and as expected found Palla-Palla standing there. How the girl had approached her without being heard said a lot about how deeply Arcia had been lost in what had happened. The nun had an idea what Palla-Palla was about to ask, as she asked it every day since she had come to Tanto Quatro Pai. Arcia really didn't have the patience for it, but the burden of her calling forced her to suppress her frustration in favor of guiding this disadvantaged lamb._

"_Yes, Palla-Palla?" Arcia asked._

"_Is Linda-Linda all right?"_

_This surprised Sister Arcia and she looked upon the small, blue-haired girl more kindly._

"_We were able to get to her in time," Arcia told her. "Belinda is still alive." The swell of joy that rose from Palla-Palla was gratifying to the nun. "It was very Christian of you to be concerned for her, given your history with her."_

"_Can Palla-Palla have some paper and color sticks? She wants to make Linda-Linda a get well card."_

_Arcia squashed a smile. "I think I can arrange that."_

"_Thank you very much! Palla-Palla will give it to her when she comes back!" The girl grew puzzled. "When is Linda-Linda coming back?"_

_Sister Arcia grew serious. "Belinda isn't coming back."_

"_But Sister Arcia-Ma'am said she was all right."_

_Arcia led the girl over to a bench in the hall. They both sat down._

"_Belinda is going to be staying at the State Hospital," the nun explained. _

"_Why?"_

"_Because she has," Arcia continued, "problems. Very deep emotional problems. Problems that we're not equipped to deal with here. The State Hospital has doctors there who can try to treat her emotional problems and make her into a productive member of society."_

"_Linda-Linda gave into the darkness," Palla-Palla whimpered. _

"_What?"_

"_Father Melendez-Sir; he told Palla-Palla that some people can't see Mr. God-Sir's light and they fall into darkness. And then they have to be locked away so they don't hurt people and don't hurt themselves." She looked up at Arcia. "Palla-Palla was going to try to show Linda-Linda the light so she could be nice again and . . ." and she swallowed, "and now it's too late."_

"_Maybe not," Arcia told her. "God didn't take Belinda, so he must still have a plan for her. Maybe the doctors at the State Hospital will be able to get her to see the light of His love. And maybe your card will help with that, too."_

"_Then Palla-Palla will start working on it right away," the girl said, jumping to her feet. Arcia rose with her._

"_Let me get you some supplies," Arcia said gently. "And Palla-Palla - - even if it is too late for Belinda, it may not be too late for someone else. So please keep the light God planted in you shining brightly, so that others may see it and be inspired by it."_

"_Yes, Sister Arcia-Ma'am! Palla-Palla will do that!" And she scampered off._

"_Just Sister Arcia," the nun sighed. But she couldn't extinguish the smile from her face._

* * *

"And Linda-Linda never came back," Palla-Palla said. "Palla-Palla doesn't know what happened to her. But she hopes Linda-Linda got better."

"I hope so, too," Usa mused. "Sounds like she had a lot of anger in her."

"So what did her mom do to her, anyway?" Cere asked.

The girl just stared for a moment. "Palla-Palla isn't going to say because Palla-Palla doesn't like thinking about it."

"Just as well, I suppose," Usa nodded.

* * *

_In the office of the Leticia, Brasilia, children's services ministry, a ten year old girl sat at the desk of a tired case worker. The case worker's name was Armando Ruiz and he dealt with juvenile offenders. The work was beginning to burn him out, but at the moment he had no career alternatives. Also in the room was Officer Ramon Velasquez, in whose custody the girl currently was, and Sister Frieda Newsome of the Leticia Catholic Social Services department._

_The girl, a wiry young thing with tanned brown skin, green hair woven into a Quechuan headdress made of dries vines and the darting, suspicious eyes of a wild animal, sat and observed everything. All she had on was a worn light blue blouse tied at the midriff and cut off jeans. She had been arrested for shoplifting a bag of fruit from a local market, but had been brought to Children's Services rather than Juvenile Detention when it was learned of her special circumstances._

"_All right," sighed Ruiz. "Name?"_

_Aysiri turned to him, not seeming to understand that he was talking to her._

"_Your name?"_

"_Aysiri Yaku," she replied suspiciously._

"_Sounds Quechuan," Ruiz remarked. "That would explain the headdress. Do you have family here?"_

"_No," Aysiri replied._

"_Where are they?"_

"_Mi Padre," Aysiri began, grimacing as if her chest hurt, "has gone to God."_

"_And your mother?"_

"_I have no mother."_

"_If you're not from Leticia," Ruiz asked, "then where did you come from?"_

"_Up river," Aysiri told him, "from where the sun sets."_

"_The mountains?" Ruiz questioned. "You lived in the Andes?"_

"_No. The jungle," Aysiri corrected him._

"_You lived in the jungle? You and this . . .?"_

"_Mi Padre," Aysiri said._

"_How did you end up here?"_

"_When Mi Padre went to God," Aysiri explained reluctantly, "I got lonely. I took our canoe and came down river, to here - - to see what other people were like."_

"_How long did you live in the jungle?" Ruiz asked, growing more astonished by what he heard with every moment._

"_Always."_

_Ruiz shook his head and returned to the virtual report displayed to his right. _

"_It says here you were arrested for shoplifting," Ruiz read. "Why did you do it?"_

"_I was hungry," Aysiri shrugged._

"_And I assume you didn't have any credits to pay for it," Ruiz commented._

"_What is 'credits'?" the girl asked. Ruiz looked at her to see if she was joking._

"_We're of the opinion that incarceration would be of no benefit to her," Sister Newcombe, a Catholic missionary from North America, said. "This girl has been raised outside of civilization for most if not all of her life. Juvenile Detention would do nothing to rehabilitate her and might just make her worse."_

"_I agree," Ruiz responded. "Still, we can't just turn her loose, particularly with no family structure to return her to. She'll have to go into some sort of foster care."_

"_What is that?" Aysiri asked._

"_It can't possibly be normal foster care," Newcombe argued, "given her critical need for basic socialization. Would the State Hospital facility on Donovo accept her?"_

"_Hospital?" Aysiri asked._

"_If a court ordered it," Ruiz shook his head, "but otherwise not. Can't your people place her in one of the orphanages you run?"_

"_What is 'orphanage'?" Aysiri asked. "I want to leave."_

"_Yes," Newcombe sighed, "but with her severe socialization and educational needs, it's going to put a strain on the facility."_

"_I want to leave!" Aysiri demanded._

"_Quiet," Officer Velasquez told her._

"_I want to leave!" _

"_Now calm down," Sister Newcombe said to her. "No one is going to hurt you. We're going to take you to a place where you can stay and learn about the world outside of the jungle. It's a place you can call home."_

_Aysiri stared at her for a moment. Then she bolted from the chair, leaped over the seated officer and sprang to the door. But growing up in the jungle, Aysiri knew nothing about release buttons and thirtieth century doors had no knobs or handles. So she just pressed her fingers against the edge of the door and tried to pull it open._

"_Come back and sit down!" snapped Officer Velasquez. He lunged at her from his chair._

_Aysiri ducked under the officer's lunge and bolted toward Ruiz. The case worker dived out of the way as Aysiri vaulted his desk and landed in the far corner of the room. Sister Newcombe approached, her hand out._

"_Please, Aysiri, calm down," she pleaded. "No one wants to hurt you."_

_Grabbing a potted plant in the corner, Aysiri flung it at the nun. By now Velasquez was coming at her from the other side. He grabbed for her, but Aysiri dived under the desk. Velasquez bent down and reached under the desk, trying to grab her. When he got too close, Aysiri bit his hand._

"_YEOW!" roared the officer. "That does it!" He pulled his sidearm from his belt._

"_She's just a child!" shrieked Sister Newcombe. _

_Undaunted, Velasquez aimed his weapon under the desk and fired. Two metal prongs shot out and buried themselves in Aysiri's thigh. Aysiri yelped in pain. Then she gave off a prolonged grunt when the electric current passed from the weapon through the prongs and into her body. When the current shut off, Aysiri lay on her side, twitching. Velasquez reached in and dragged the girl out._

"_Perhaps," Sister Newcombe began, "it might be a good idea to assign her to a facility in another city. She seems to mistrust authority and if she's close to her former home, she might be tempted to run away and return there. We have to make sure we can save this girl."_

"_Do you have a suggestion?" Ruiz asked, eyeing the twitching girl warily._

_Newcombe pulled out a PDA and began typing. _

"_There's a spot open in our facility in Sao Paulo," Newcombe said. "Hopefully that's far enough away from Leticia to dissuade her from running away."_

"_I'll execute the custody transfer," Ruiz sighed with relief. "Can you take her today?"_

* * *

_Palla-Palla was sitting on her bunk in the dormitory, struggling to read the new book she'd gotten last month for her tenth birthday. Even though she struggled with it every day, she was only up to page eleven. It was hard for her to remember what the characters sounded like, and the words they formed. And it was difficult for her to remember what she'd read the previous days. She knew vaguely how the story ended because she'd leafed ahead and looked at all of the illustrations. The illustrations were vivid and colorful and she intended to try to copy some of them with her color sticks. But Palla-Palla was determined to read the story first._

_Movement caught her eye and Palla-Palla spotted her old friend Teresa headed for the door._

"_Hi, Risa-Risa!" Palla-Palla smiled and waved. Teresa came over. The mocha-skinned waif was beginning to grow and fill out now that she had regular meals and looked more like an_ _eight year old rather than a broomstick._

"_Hi, Palla-Palla," Teresa smiled. "Still trying to read that?"_

"_Father Melendez-Sir says we don't succeed if we don't try and he's very smart," she replied. "Does Risa-Risa want to play dolly with Palla-Palla?" Palla-Palla had a meager collection of dolls and playing with Teresa and Luisa, both younger than her, had been a fun pastime. _

"_Um," Teresa hesitated, "that's OK, Palla-Palla. I'm meeting Luisa in the courtyard. I'll see you later." _

_Teresa headed out, not seeing Palla-Palla's sinking expression. For Palla-Palla had caught a stray thought from Teresa, of how playing with Palla-Palla, fun at five, seemed childish to her at eight. And how, while she still liked Palla-Palla, hanging around with the childlike girl didn't seem fun anymore._

"_Palla-Palla wishes she wasn't stupid," the girl murmured, staring at the book without seeing it._

_Suddenly she looked up. Sister Arcia was entering the room._

"_Hi, Sister Arcia-Ma'am!" Palla-Palla beamed._

"_Just Sister Arcia," the nun corrected her with a smirk, because she knew it was a futile gesture._

"_Did Palla-Palla's mommy come for her today?"_

"_No, child. Not yet," Arcia replied. "Please put the book down and come help me."_

_She led Palla-Palla over to a bunk bed and dresser in the far corner of the room. The top bunk was empty. It had belonged to Carlotta Velarde, one of the girls who had hung around with Belinda. She had entered a vocational program the government ran and had been released._

"_Is Carlotta-Ma'am coming back?" Palla-Palla asked._

"_No, child. We're getting a new resident today. I want you to help me change these sheets and make sure that the dresser is clean." Arcia looked down at Palla-Palla. "You can do that, can't you?"_

"_Yes, Sister Arcia-Ma'am!" Palla-Palla nodded. Then she frowned. "But Palla-Palla is very short. And she's not very good on the ladder. Maybe she should do the dresser."_

"_Maybe you should," Arcia smiled back. And fifteen minutes later, everything was ready for the new orphan coming to Tanto Quatro Pai._

"_Can Palla-Palla meet the new girl?" Palla-Palla asked when they finished._

"_Certainly," Sister Arcia nodded. "You can even give her a warm welcome. I'm certain __she's been through a lot and would welcome a smiling face."_

_Palla-Palla and Sister Arcia walked out into the hall just as Father Melendez was walking up with a girl Palla-Palla had never seen before. She had green hair and wore an exotic headdress made of dried vines. The girl had large green eyes that darted back and forth, taking in everything, and a wiry athletic frame that was tanned and taut. She wore jeans that barely fit her and a donated t-short that Arcia recognized from their clothing stores. _

_Immediately Palla-Palla approached. That made the new girl stop and lock her gaze onto the approaching child. She seemed ready to bolt, but Father Melendez knelt down next to her and tried to reassure her._

"_Ah, hello Palla-Palla," Melendez said. "I'd like you to meet our newest guest. Her name is Aysiri Yaku and she's ten years old just like you."_

"_Palla-Palla is very glad to meet you!" Palla-Palla smiled, aggressively happy. Aysiri __tried to back up, but Father Melendez was in the way. "If . . ."_

_Then she stared at Aysiri for a moment. Everyone wondered what was happening._

"_Jun-Jun," Palla-Palla murmured vacantly. Then she seemed to return. "Palla-Palla will call you Jun-Jun."_

"_But," the girl stared in confusion, "my name is Aysiri."_

"_Palla-Palla will call you Jun-Jun," Palla-Palla nodded with a smile._

* * *

"And she did," chuckled Jun. The five travelers were departing the shuttle and entering the Rio de Janeiro port. Usa spotted the representatives from the Japanese embassy at the gate waiting for them.

"She probably sensed your original name," Hotaru concluded. "You didn't realize she was telepathic?"

"None of us did," Cere replied. "Would have explained a few things."

"Come on, girls," Usa said to them. "Pop's booked us a private shuttle to Sao Paulo."

"Traveling in style!" Cere grinned. "I LIKE IT!"

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. Jungle Girl

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 5: "Jungle Girl"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Usa and her friends entered the suite where she and Hotaru would be staying in Sao Paulo. It was large and plush with all the amenities due a visiting dignitary and her staff. The Asteroids had the suite next door and it was equally sumptuous.

"I will NEVER get used to rooms being this big and this plush!" marveled Jun.

"And this is just the main room," Usa chuckled. "The bedroom is in there."

"It's as big as our quarters back home!" Jun raved. "Ves is really missing out!"

"Ves wouldn't appreciate luxury like this," sniffed Cere. "She's more comfortable in a cardboard box. As long as she's got a dish of water beside it, of course."

"Cere," sighed Jun.

"I, on the other hand, feel like I'm home," Cere beamed. "If only we could stay here forever."

Cere felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down at Palla-Palla.

"Palla-Palla is sleepy and wants to go beddy-bye," the teen pouted.

"That's fine," Cere nodded. "Oh, I guess I better show you where the room is. Don't want you getting lost in an unfamiliar place."

Palla-Palla beamed and allowed herself to be escorted out.

"Can Cere-Cere tell Palla-Palla a beddy-bye story?" Palla-Palla asked as they exited.

"If I have to," sighed Cere.

"Well I'm not sleepy," Jun stated. "Want to do something?"

"We can call room service - - have something sent up," Usa suggested. "Maybe catch a vid."

"All the vids here are in Portuguese," Jun reminded her.

"Maybe you could tell us about your time with Father Melendez," Hotaru suggested. "I mean, Palla-Palla did. That is, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Jun shrugged. The three sat down, Usa grabbing her PDA and contacted room service. "Thinking back, it wasn't always bad at Quatro Pai. A lot of that was due to Cere and Palla-Palla. But a lot of it was due to Father Melendez, too." She grew sober. "But those first days there were an experience."

* * *

_After leaving Palla-Palla, Aysiri and Father Melendez went to the room where the IQ testing computer was. The door to the room hissed open and Aysiri, still wary and seeing no windows in the room, began to shy._

"_There's no need to be afraid, Aysiri," Father Melendez told her, kneeling next to her in order to keep her calm in this alien environment. "These machines will just test how much you know. That's so we know how much to teach you. I promise you won't be harmed. As a man of God, I give you my word."_

_That seemed to assure the green-haired girl enough that she entered. Waiting for them was Sister Arcia. She took one look at Aysiri's headdress and frowned._

"_That will have to come off," Arcia fussed. She reached for the headdress and Aysiri shied away._

"_Do not touch!" Aysiri barked, backing away from Sister Arcia._

"_That's no way to act in public!" Arcia said sternly, trying to establish authority in the girl._

"_No! Do not touch!" Aysiri snapped. _

"_Why, Aysiri?" Father Melendez asked calmly._

"_It is sacred," Aysiri told him suspiciously._

"_Sacred?"_

"_It is the crown of the water goddess," Aysiri continued. "Mi Padre told me that I was her favorite and under her protection, and that I must wear it to honor her."_

"_Pagan rubbish," sighed Sister Arcia._

"_That's important to you, isn't it?" Father Melendez asked. Aysiri nodded. "Then I don't think it will hurt anything if you keep it."_

"_Father," Arcia spoke up, "it will draw ridicule. Her background and the fact that she's obviously a victim of the Chemical Incident will draw enough attention to her. This will only give the other children one more target."_

"_Being different can be a burden," Melendez countered. "But being different also demonstrates God's infinite complexity and infinite diversity. We must teach her to accept her differences, to cherish them and to use them to benefit everyone, as God intended when He made her."_

"_I wish God had given you common sense," Arcia sighed, "blessed be His name." _

_Melendez smiled charitably at the nun, then helped Aysiri be seated in front of a computer._

"_Answer the questions as best you can," he told her. "You're not being graded and there is no fail." Aysiri nodded._

"_What is this letter?" the computer asked. Aysiri jumped out of her seat and backed defensively against the wall._

"_It is alive?" she gasped, staring at the machine. Sister Arcia sighed and glanced skeptically at Father Melendez._

* * *

"_You graded out surprisingly well in some areas, Aysiri," Father Melendez told the girl as they walked down the hall of the orphanage. As they walked, two girls passed them in the opposite direction. They giggled after passing, but a stern look from Melendez quieted them. "You show a particular aptitude for reading. Who taught you, if I may ask.?"_

"_Mi Padre," Aysiri replied nostalgically. "He had a Holy Bible and taught me how to read with it."_

"_Really? Was he Catholic?"_

"_No."_

"_Pity. But we all have flaws." Aysiri looked up and saw Father Melendez smirking. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. . ."_

"_John 3:16," Aysiri said._

"_Very good. Were there any other books you were familiar with?"_

"_No," Aysiri sighed. "We did not have much room to keep books. I would like to read some others. I have heard about them, but I have never had the chance."_

"_A worthy ambition," Melendez commented. "Now you also showed great aptitude in Portuguese. Your Padre must have been a very good teacher. However, you will need to work on your math and history skills. And if you wish to learn about computers or other interests, we can help you with those. Sister Arcia will also be working with you on your social skills."_

_Aysiri scowled._

"_Social skills are necessary if you are to function in civilization," Melendez told her. "Or were you objecting to Sister Arcia?"_

"_She does not like me," Aysiri said flatly. "I am wary of her."_

_Melendez smiled. "Sister Arcia can be demanding," he said, "but she only has your interests at heart. God speaks through her as well." The priest struggled to stay serious. "He just uses a stronger tone. Open yourself to learn from her and she will teach you how to blend in with this new environment so you're less likely to be preyed upon."_

"_Oh," Aysiri nodded. "That makes sense."_

_They stopped at a door. Melendez turned to the girl that was almost half his height._

"_We'll begin you in classes tomorrow," Melendez told her. "Dinner will be at six." Then he opened the door. "Until then, you are free to amuse yourself, so long as you respect others."_

_The door slid open and Aysiri's breath caught. She tread softly into the room, fearing to disturb the sight. On three sides the walls were covered by shelves and on each shelf were books; hundreds of books. Scarcely believing it, Aysiri turned and looked up at Father Melendez._

"_Select whichever one you wish. Read it and enjoy it." Aysiri started forward, but stopped when she felt the priest's hand on her shoulder. "When you are finished, you must return it to this room. Only then can you have another one. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes, Father Melendez!" gasped the ten-year-old. She turned back and scanned the shelves, then turned to him again. "But which one should I take?"_

_Melendez smiled at her, then walked over to a shelf on the right. Aysiri followed him and watched him select a book from the shelf. It had a worn leather binding and words stamped on it in gold leaf. The priest presented it to her._

"_Try this one. You may identify with the lead character," he said. Aysiri looked at the cover._

"_Tarzan of the Apes?" Aysiri read aloud, then looked up at him._

"_It was one of my favorites as a boy. You may read it here, or take it back to your bunk in the dormitory, whichever is comfortable for you. But take care of it. Someone else may wish to sample its treasures when you've finished."_

"_I will!" gasped Aysiri. She hurried off for the dormitory. Father Melendez watched her go. He had read the preliminary report from the nun in Leticia and was pleased that he'd managed to reach this wild child._

* * *

"Tarzan of the Apes?" Hotaru repeated. "I don't think I've read that one."

"I saw the movie," Usa shrugged.

"The book is better," Jun replied with an assurance that told them she was ready to argue the point.

"Than the movie? Which version?" chuckled Usa.

"ALL of them," Jun answered.

"Oh, is she boring you with those stories about her dreary books again," sighed Cere as she entered. "Palla-Palla's down for the night - - I hope." Cere paused. "She's really taking this hard."

"Well, she knew him the longest," Jun said. "He sort of became the father figure to her that she never had. And Mi Padre was great to me, so if I miss Father Melendez, imagine how she feels."

"Yeah," Cere sighed. "Father Melendez was one of the few nice things about Quatro Pai." Compartmentalizing her sadness, Cere brightened. "So how far did you get, Jun? You tell them about the courtyard yet?"

"I was getting there," Jun smiled nostalgically. Usa and Hotaru leaned in.

* * *

_There was a huge tree on the north end of the enclosed courtyard where the orphans of Tanto Quatro Pai played. It was near the north wall, though all of the limbs on the north side of the tree had been cut away to try to dissuade the more adventurous or embittered orphans from climbing it, leaping over to the wall and then dropping to the street below._

_Under the shade of the tree, Aysiri Yaku sat, "Tarzan of the Apes" propped on her knees, devouring every word of the novel. Father Melendez was right in that young Tarzan's time in the African jungle had mirrored her own life in the Amazon. But he was so different than she was: strong, fast, sure of himself, not needing anyone once he'd mastered French from his friend Paul D'Arnot. Aysiri could understand Jane Porter's attraction to him. She felt herself being attracted to Tarzan too. _

_Hearing footsteps, Aysiri looked up and found three boys approaching her. They were orphans at Quatro Pai like she was. The leader, Ramon, was a boy of fourteen, with dark hair and caramel skin, his frame fit and lean and wiry. With him were Manuel, a brown-haired youth of twelve who was a little heavier and a little less athletic, but with the same aspirations as Ramon; and Beinvenudo, or Ben for short, an eleven year old with black hair, dull eyes, and clenched fists, following the others and learning. Aysiri's eyes narrowed. She could recognize a pack when she saw one._

_With practiced skill, Aysiri got up and scaled the tree, coming to rest in the crook of a large branch fourteen feet above the grounds. _

"_Hey!" gasped Ben. "How'd she do that?"_

"_I told you she was part animal," sneered Ramon. "Come on down, girl. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to get to know you."_

_Aysiri settled in the tree and went back to reading._

"_What's with that funny hat?" snickered Manuel. When no answer came, he grew angry. "Hey, we're talking to you!"_

"_Maybe she's too stupid to understand," chuckled Ramon. "Maybe we've got another low achiever, like that other girl."_

"_Low achiever," chuckled Ben, because Ramon was laughing._

"_Maybe I should come up there after her!" Manuel growled. "Teach her some respect!"_

_Manuel began to scale the tree. He didn't do it as effortlessly as Aysiri had, but he got up to the branch fourteen feet off of the ground._

"_Hey!" he exclaimed._

_Aysiri wasn't there. Manuel looked around and then up. Aysiri was on another branch, twenty feet in the air, and had resumed reading._

"_Think you're smart," grumbled Manuel. _

_He began to ascend the trunk of the tree, headed for her. However, his foot slipped on some bark and he lost his balance. Manuel lost his grip, fell onto the fourteen foot branch, glanced off of it and landed on the ground like a sack of flour. Ramon and Ben laughed at him as he groaned. Aysiri kept reading. Moments later three nuns ran up, Sister Arcia among them._

"_What happened?" Arcia demanded._

"_She pushed Manuel out of the tree," Ramon claimed. Ben began nodding._

"_Sister Alonso, call the doctor," Arcia told one of the nuns. She turned to Ramon. "Just what was he doing IN the tree?"_

_Ramon was silent for a few moments, then shrugged. Ben didn't answer. That was all the evidence Arcia needed to know in a general sense what was going on._

"_Back inside, you two," Arcia told them. "Sister Vazquez will find some chores for you."_

"_We didn't do anything!" howled Ramon._

"_IN-SIDE!" snapped the nun. _

_Knowing the battle was lost, Ramon retreated and Ben followed him. With the doctor tending to Manuel, Arcia turned her attention to Aysiri, twenty feet in the air reading a book._

"_Aysiri!" she called up to the new girl. "Wait there. We'll get a ladder."_

"_No need," Aysiri said. With amazing dexterity, Aysiri descended the tree and dropped to the ground. For a moment, Sister Arcia was startled._

"_Did you push Manuel out of the tree?" Arcia asked._

"_He was climbing after me and fell," Aysiri replied. "He does not climb very well."_

"_And what were you doing in the tree?" Arcia asked. "It's dangerous. You could have fallen."_

"_I have never fallen out of a tree in my life," Aysiri scowled. "I have jumped a few times, when I ran into an anaconda . . ."_

"_It's . . ." Arcia began, then stopped, for she'd never encountered this before. "We don't do that in civilization, Aysiri. This isn't the jungle."_

"_Sometimes trees are safer than what is on the ground," Aysiri maintained._

"_Did they threaten you?"_

"_I thought it better not to take the chance," Aysiri told her._

_The nun heaved a heavy sigh. "Aysiri," she began, "please stay out of the trees. Despite your experience, they can be dangerous. God meant for us to be on the ground. Otherwise he would have given us wings."_

_Aysiri looked up. Arcia followed her line of sight and spotted a shuttle flying from the Sao Paulo port to Rio de Janeiro. She looked down and found Aysiri looking skeptically at her._

"_Just stay on the ground," Arcia huffed and walked off._

_Aysiri exhaled in frustration and wondered how long she would have to stay here. Then she caught sight of Manuel as he was being carried off. The boy glared at her and Aysiri's jungle sense told her that things weren't finished between them._

* * *

_Book under her arm, Aysiri headed down the hall toward the room where the other books were stored. Father Melendez had given her permission to select another book to read, after hearing her glowing review of the Burroughs novel. His caution that she finish any homework dragged on her euphoria. She would much rather be reading another novel than working on the simple arithmetic lessons that had made up her first day of school. Only the lure of another literary adventure pushed her to finish._

_A sound was caught by her trained ears and Aysiri turned. Following her was the girl she had met on her first day - - the strange one - - Palla-Palla. The blue-haired girl approached her and smiled with child-like innocence._

"_Where is Jun-Jun going?" Palla-Palla asked._

"_I told you," she responded curtly, "my name is Aysiri."_

"_Yes, Palla-Palla knows," the girl nodded. "But that's too hard for Palla-Palla to say, so she's going to call you Jun-Jun. Where is Jun-Jun going?"_

"_To return this book," Aysiri said as she walked. "And get another one. Do you read much?"_

"_Palla-Palla doesn't read very well," the girl grimaced. "She likes books with lots of pictures. She can understand them."_

"_That is too bad. You are missing a lot."_

"_Where did Jun-Jun learn to climb like that?" Palla-Palla asked as they walked._

"_In the jungle," Aysiri replied. "You learn to climb early or you get eaten. And even then you have to be careful, because the jaguar and the anaconda climb, too."_

"_Snakey-snakes are icky," scowled Palla-Palla. Aysiri was mildly surprised, as she didn't think someone she judged as simple would be familiar with the anaconda._

_They reached the makeshift library and the door hissed open, again startling Aysiri. Recovering, she started to enter, but a hand on her forearm stopped her._

"_Jun-Jun needs to be careful," Palla-Palla warned. "Ramon-Sir doesn't like Jun-Jun. And Manuel-Sir really doesn't like Jun-Jun. And they're both very mean. They want to be mean to Jun-Jun."_

"_Are they mean to you?" Aysiri asked._

"_A lot of people are mean to Palla-Palla. It's because she's stupid," Palla-Palla murmured. Then she set it aside. "Jun-Jun needs to be careful."_

"_I am always careful," Aysiri replied. She started inside, but stopped and looked back, about to say one more thing to Palla-Palla. But Palla-Palla was skipping down the hall to the dormitory. Shrugging, Aysiri went inside and wondered what world she was going to visit next._

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. The Interests Of Others

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 6: "The Interests Of Others"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"This Father Melendez sounds like a real cool guy," Usa remarked as she, Hotaru, Jun and Cere sat in a hotel suite and reminisced over pizza and bottled tea. "I wish I could have met him now."

"He does seem like a very good teacher," Hotaru nodded. "And a very kind person. I guess that comes with being a priest."

"Don't make that assumption," Cere told her. "Not every priest is a good person. But Father Melendez was a pretty good teacher."

"He sure taught me a good lesson," Jun sighed. "If I'd been smarter and hung onto it, maybe I wouldn't have ended up the way I did."

* * *

_Afternoon break found Aysiri in the courtyard, under her favorite tree, engaged in one of her favorite occupations. As the other children played or hung out, Aysiri was already a quarter of the way through "Wuthering Heights". And as interesting as "Tarzan of the Apes" had been, this sang to her in a way she had never experienced in her ten years on Earth._

"_There goes the bookworm!" snorted Manuel, already out of the infirmary with just bruises from his fall. Aysiri glanced at him, judged that he wasn't a physical threat to her at the moment, and went back to reading._

"_She's so weird," said one of the girls with him, a girl of twelve she recalled was named Elena. Elena had long black hair and the soft, unathletic frame of what Aysiri termed a civilization girl. "You should see her eat. It's like she never used a knife and fork in her life."_

"_What do you want?" Aysiri asked with unconcealed annoyance. "I am trying to read."_

"_That's all you do," Elena scowled. "Why don't you act like normal people?"_

"_I act as I am. I am no one else," Aysiri replied. "Mi Padre always told me to be myself and take pride in who I am."_

"_Mi Padre," mimicked Elena. "Which priest is that, little miss suck-up?"_

_Aysiri glanced up at the tree limb fourteen feet up. For a moment she considered climbing up there, but recalled Sister Arcia's admonition. Sighing, she returned to her book._

_Manuel signaled silently to Elena. Trying to impress her, he flicked his foot out and kicked the book out of Aysiri's hands. It spun up into the air. But before gravity could catch it and return it to Earth, Aysiri lunged up like a striking predator. Her feet off the ground, she snatched the book in midair, then somersaulted and touched down, book cradled to her. The two youths stared in shock._

"_Now I have lost my place," grumbled Aysiri. She turned and began to walk away._

"_Do that again!" gasped Manuel._

"_No," Aysiri replied, focused on thumbing through the novel in search of where she'd left off._

"_Where are you going. Bookworm?" sneered Elena._

"_Where I may read in peace," she replied, "away from you."_

"_No, I want to see you do that again!" Manuel roared. _

_He lunged at Aysiri. She turned to elude him, but the boy got hold of the book._

"_Give me that!" he snapped._

"_Let it go!" barked Aysiri. One of the nuns started over toward them._

"_I said give it!" the boy roared and jammed his palm into Aysiri's face. _

_She responded by biting his palm. The boy yanked his hand away and looked at her just in time to see Aysiri pounce. Her body barreled into his and her momentum threw him to the ground. With Aysiri on top of him, Manuel couldn't get up and suffered several vicious blows to the head before Sister Pena rushed in and pulled her away._

"_What was the fight about?" Sister Arcia asked. Aysiri was sitting in a room with the nun, her hand resting on the treasured novel._

"_He wished to take my book from me," Aysiri explained, convinced of her innocence. "When I refused to give it to him, he pushed my face with his hand. I defended myself."_

"_You did more than defend yourself," Arcia replied. "You fractured his eye socket."_

"_When you are attacked and cannot run, you make the attacker suffer so he will not attack again," Aysiri testified. "I learned that in the jungle."_

"_Well, you're not in the jungle anymore," Arcia reminded her. "Self-defense is one thing, but intentionally injuring someone is a sin."_

"_Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked," Aysiri said defiantly._

"_Don't quote verse to me, young lady," Arcia bristled. "There is self-defense and there is vengeance. And vengeance is the realm of The Lord, not yours."_

"_I think he will not attack me again," Aysiri maintained. _

"_Or he'll get a gang of his friends and overwhelm you," Arcia countered. "Now I understand that you're new to the ways of civilization, so I'm not going to punish you for this. But I will if it happens again. You must learn the line between defending yourself and exacting vengeance on another. Now go and reflect on this."_

_Arcia reached down and tried to slide the novel away from Aysiri. The girl resisted._

"_And I'll keep this so you're not distracted and can reflect on your actions properly," Arcia said, locking eyes with Aysiri and daring her to challenge. "You can have it back tomorrow morning. I'll also expect you to tell me where you were wrong today."_

_For a moment it looked like the girl would not back down. Then Aysiri relented and huffed out the door. Arcia's eyes followed her out. She wondered how much more trouble this girl could be._

* * *

_The next afternoon recess found Aysiri once more sitting under her now favorite tree, her heart aching over the tragic relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff as she finished chapter seventeen. No one bothered her. No one came near her. It bothered Aysiri when she thought about it, but diving back into the novel allowed her to not deal with the isolation. _

_Sister Arcia had not been satisfied with Aysiri's summation of yesterday's incident and her culpability in it. Aysiri maintained that survival meant avoiding attack until it could no longer be avoided, then demonstrating superior force in order to make the aggressor choose a weaker target. The nun expressed her disappointment and instructed Aysiri to read The Bible again and this time understand the words it imparted._

_But she gave Aysiri back her book._

"_What have you got there, Low Achiever?"_

_Aysiri looked up from her book because she recognized the voice. It was Elena from yesterday. Elena, despite her unconcealed contempt for Aysiri, had also given the girl a wide berth. That was fine with Aysiri, for Elena had, in the short time she'd known the girl, a desire to demean others. She wasn't a predator like Manuel, who had kicked the book yesterday in an attempt to impress her. And yet, in the odd verbal way she had, she was._

_Elena was standing over the strange one - - Palla-Palla - - as the blue-haired girl sat on a bench. Palla-Palla looked away, clutching something protectively to her chest._

"_Answer me!" snapped Elena. The thin girl shoved Palla-Palla for emphasis. _

"_Please don't hit Palla-Palla," she whimpered._

"_Then show me what you've got! I know you're not too dumb to understand me!" Elena barked._

"_Elena wants to hurt Miss Maria," Palla-Palla replied, still shielding the object with her body._

"_What a nasty thing to say about me!" Elena growled. She slapped Palla-Palla and the girl cringed. "You better apologize!"_

_By now several of the other children in the courtyard were gathered around. Some were enjoying Palla-Palla's pain, while others wanted to intervene, but feared Elena's ill-temper turning on them._

"_Apologize!" Elena demanded and slapped Palla-Palla again._

"_Please stop hitting Palla-Palla!" wailed the girl._

"'_Please stop hitting Palla-Palla'," mocked the slender twelve year old. _

_Suddenly she lunged at Palla-Palla. Palla-Palla tried to move, but Elena seized part of what the girl was shielding. Then Aysiri saw it. It was a doll; at least that was what Palla-Palla had called it when she showed it earlier to Aysiri. Aysiri had thought it was a totem, unfamiliar as she was with dolls. _

"_No! Don't hurt Miss Maria!" cried Palla-Palla as the two girls struggled for possession of the doll._

_Aysiri returned to her book._

_A shriek brought one of the nuns running. Aysiri looked up. Palla-Palla was crying hysterically, holding a doll with no head. Elena glared at her with cruel satisfaction, then threw the doll's head at Palla-Palla's feet._

"_It's your fault," Elena sneered. "If you'd given it to me when I told you to, none of this would have happened."_

_Aysiri was about to return to her book, but didn't. Her emotions were swirling. She disliked Elena even more now and felt herself wishing for something bad to happen to the girl. But Sister Arcia's words about vengeance came into her mind. And she felt bad for Palla-Palla, for in the short time she'd known the girl, Aysiri had determined that she was the farthest thing on the planet to a threat. But that was the law of survival: If you didn't want to be prey, you stopped being weak. And if Elena was bothering Palla-Palla, she wasn't bothering her._

_By now Sister Arcia had roared up. Palla-Palla didn't even have to say anything, not that she could given her hysterics. Arcia demanded Elena's hand. When Elena refused, Arcia lunged and grabbed it, then slammed the ruler across it. The angry young girl was sent off to confession and a restriction to the dorm. The other children were chased off with loud admonitions about "helping thy neighbor". _

_Then Arcia glanced Aysiri's way. She said nothing and Aysiri returned her attention to Catherine and Heathcliff. The sound of the hysterical blue-haired girl being escorted into the orphanage building echoed in the courtyard for minutes after she was gone._

* * *

"_Aysiri," Father Melendez called out as she was returning from dinner to work on the hated math homework. "I'd like to speak to you. Could you come in here, please?"_

_Aysiri wondered what the priest wanted. Maybe he had another cache of books to show her. And anything was better than the strain and frustration of trying to understand numbers. The girl entered the office and sat in the chair offered to her across from the priest's desk. She even remembered to sit in the chair and not crouch in it. Sister Arcia's rebuke for that was still ringing in her ears._

"_Please don't assume that I'm singling you out, Aysiri," Melendez began. "I've been talking to several of the children involved in this afternoon's incident and I intend to talk to several more after you."_

"_Incident?" Aysiri asked curiously._

"_Between Elena and Palla-Palla," Melendez replied. Aysiri nodded. "I understand you were there when it happened." Aysiri nodded. "Did you try to intervene?"_

"_No. It did not concern me," Aysiri told him._

"_Why is that?" Melendez asked._

"_It was a fight between Elena and Palla-Palla. I was not involved."_

"_Do you think it was a fair fight?"_

"_Clearly not," Aysiri responded. "Clearly Palla-Palla has no competent means of defending herself. She is mentally weak and unable to either recognize danger until it is too late or to know what to do when it is upon her."_

"_That is a reasonable assessment," nodded Melendez. "You're able to do these things, right?"_

"_Yes. I have needed to for five years."_

"_Would it be reasonable to assume you could have helped Palla-Palla defend herself? Or at least summon one of the staff to help her?"_

"_You do not enter a fight between two others," Aysiri told him. "It invites attack upon yourself. That is not how you survive. It is unfortunate that the weaker among us must suffer, but it is the law of survival."_

"_Ah, but doesn't the mother bird feign injury to draw the predator's attack upon her and away from her chicks who are unable to defend themselves? Doesn't the smaller animal bear the brunt of the attack of a larger animal in order to defend the weaker cubs?"_

"_But they are defending their young," Aysiri replied. "It is different."_

"_Is it?" Melendez asked. "You are quite familiar with the Holy Bible, Aysiri. Do you believe in it?"_

"_I do not know," Aysiri answered. "But there are many good concepts in it."_

"_Such as Matthew 19:19?"_

"_Honor thy father and mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou do thyself." Aysiri looked at him. _

"_And Luke 10:29 to 10:37?"_

"_But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied and said, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands? And he said, 'The one who showed mercy toward him.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go and do the same.'"_

"_And what of Philippians 2:4?"_

"_Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," Aysiri recited. "Father, I do not understand. Am I to risk my safety to help those too weak to help themselves? Is this what God wants? I thought violence was wrong. I thought vengeance was not mine to deliver."_

"_God wishes us to look out for others and help them as best we can," Melendez told her, "for in His eyes we are all His children and thus are all related. Like the mother bird protecting her young. Now we do not all have the same abilities and the same opportunities to help. But we must not be as the priest or the Levite and turn a blind eye to suffering when we can help. I'm not demanding you actively protect people like Palla-Palla at the cost of your own well-being. We all must choose what we are willing and able to risk in such situations. Self-preservation was placed into each of us by God for reasons that His infinite wisdom saw as necessary and there is no shame in it. But to turn a blind eye and do nothing when one can do something, even as little as speak up, is not what Jesus would do. And it does you no honor."_

_Aysiri sat and thought silently about that._

"_You may go, Aysiri," Melendez told her. Aysiri got up and blankly headed for the door. "Oh, by the way, are you enjoying the book?"_

"_Hmm?" Aysiri replied distantly. "Yes, Father. I am." She exited and Father Melendez sat back in his chair, hoping as he so often did that he had reached someone else with the divine word._

_Entering the dormitory, Aysiri headed for her bunk. Placing the copy of "Wuthering Heights" on the small headboard at the top bunk, she suddenly stopped and turned. Over on the other side of the room, Palla-Palla was sitting on her bunk, her knees pulled up to her chest. The girl had stopped crying, but she seemed very isolated. The three other girls in the dorm at the moment all ignored her._

_Palla-Palla looked up as Aysiri approached and Aysiri wondered if the girl's senses were as keen as hers. Aysiri got within two feet of her._

"_Were they able to fix your doll?" Aysiri asked sympathetically._

"_Sister Arcia-Ma'am said she would try," Palla-Palla squeaked._

"_I . . ." Aysiri began. "Why do you not learn to defend yourself?"_

"_Palla-Palla is too stupid," the blue-haired girl admitted with some shame. "One of the nuns tried to teach her, but Palla-Palla could never remember what to do."_

"_Oh," Aysiri whispered. For a few moments she wondered what she should do. "If you wish, I will defend you."_

"_OK," Palla-Palla responded. It was cautious and distant, as if the girl didn't believe her. Aysiri felt bad, like she was just one step above Elena._

"_And," Aysiri continued awkwardly, "perhaps I could help you with learning how to read? You still struggle with that, do you not? I read very well. Perhaps - - I could help you?"_

_The look of gratitude from Palla-Palla surprised Aysiri._

"_Thank you," Palla-Palla said, her voice thick with emotion. "And maybe Palla-Palla can help Jun-Jun with her numbers. Palla-Palla is really good with numbers."_

"_How did you know I do not understand math?" Aysiri asked._

_Palla-Palla just shrugged blankly. It would have been an inadequate response from anyone else, but with Palla-Palla it just seemed to fit._

"_Thank you," Aysiri nodded. "I think I would like that."_

_Palla-Palla beamed at her with child-like exuberance. And Aysiri suddenly didn't feel anything remotely like Elena._

* * *

"I think I'm going to cry," Hotaru grinned, the edges of her eyes watering.

"And it was all because of Father Melendez," Jun remarked wistfully. She sobered. "Man, I miss him. I am not looking forward to tomorrow."

Continued in Chapter 7

.


	7. A Motorhead Is Born

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 7: "A Motorhead Is Born"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Morning in Sao Paulo found the five teens assembled in the hotel restaurant. With memories of their last visit to Sao Paulo in their minds they had considered ordering room service instead. But the adventuresome Princess opted for the restaurant and at the advice of her friends settled for the table furthest from the door and windows.

"Palla-Palla doesn't feel well," Palla-Palla moaned as Jun sprinkled hot sauce on her eggs and Hotaru inspected her toast to see if it was whole grain. "Does she have to go to the funeral?"

"It doesn't seem to be affecting your appetite," Cere remarked, looking at the girl's standard morning heaping of Sugar Bombs.

"Palla-Palla, if you don't want to go, you can stay here," Usa offered. She ate rice and frowned that it wasn't cooked Japanese style.

"But Father Melendez would be very disappointed in you," Cere added judgmentally.

"Palla-Palla will go," the girl sighed. "But Palla-Palla doesn't want to say bye-bye to Father Melendez-Sir. She wants him to come back."

"So do I, Palla-Palla," Jun sympathized.

"We all do," Cere added. "But he's not coming back. And we really should be there. It's bad enough that Ves can't come."

"Well," Hotaru spoke up shyly, "as long as she honors him in her heart - - isn't that enough?" Cere looked at her. "I mean, I never attended my father's funeral. I kind of couldn't. But I keep him in my heart. And I think he'd understand."

"Maybe he would," Cere wavered. "But I think she should go."

"Palla-Palla will go," the girl frowned. Then she had a thought. "Does Cere-Cere think any of the others from the orphanage will be there?"

"I'm sure the other priests and nuns will be there," Cere replied. "The other orphans? Who knows. There are a few I hope won't be there."

Jun and Palla-Palla both silently nodded as they ate.

* * *

"_And Sally the Bunny hopped along the path until she saw the familiar door in the old oak tree," Aysiri read aloud from the picture book to Palla-Palla, who sat next to her on her bunk. "She could not wait until she saw all of her brothers and sisters again. It had been a fantastic adventure and she'd seen many things. But she was glad she was home."_

"_Palla-Palla is happy that Sally the Bunny got home and got to be with her brothers and sisters!" chirped Palla-Palla._

"_That is good," Aysiri said. Then she pointed to the paragraph. "Now you read it."_

"_But Palla-Palla really likes the way Jun-Jun reads it," Palla-Palla grinned with poorly concealed slyness. "She has a very pretty voice and she reads so well!"_

"_Are you trying to get out of doing your lesson?" Aysiri asked with a smirk she couldn't quite smother. Palla-Palla's eyes looked to the ceiling and the guilt was obvious. "Read the last paragraph. You can do it."_

_Immediately Palla-Palla's brow knit as she stared at the words. For a moment Aysiri felt the girl clench so hard that she threatened to crack._

"_And . . . S-Sally . . . the Bunny . . .hope-ped . . . no, that's wrong."_

"_What do bunnies do?"_

"_They hop. Hopped! And Sally the Bunny hopped . . . aah . . . ahhh . . ." _

_The lesson was interrupted by girlish giggles. Aysiri glanced up and saw Elena walking toward the bathroom, giving them a contemptuous leer. The leer disappeared when she locked eyes with Aysiri, but the evil intent was still there._

"_Maybe Palla-Palla should give up," the girl muttered._

"_You cannot succeed if you give up," Aysiri cautioned her. "It is difficult. Many things are." She reached over and touched Palla-Palla's arm. "When I was first learning to climb, I failed many times, for my young body did not have the strength or wisdom to succeed. Many times I wished to stop trying. But Mi Padre would not let me, for he knew how important it was that I learn it. It took many tries, but I did learn. And now I climb as well as a monkey."_

"_Smell like one, too," sneered Elena as she returned to her bunk._

"_You must keep trying, too, Palla-Palla, for this is important," Aysiri continued. _

"_But Palla-Palla is just too stupid," she replied forlornly. _

"_I have as much trouble with the numbers as you do with reading," Aysiri maintained. "But I keep trying and with your help I am learning. You can do the same - - but only if you keep trying."_

"_Jun-Jun will help?" Palla-Palla asked._

"_I said I would, and I do not lie," Aysiri told her._

_Heartened, Palla-Palla pressed her finger to the paragraph in the book. "And Sally the Bunny hope-ped. . .hopped . . .a-a-along the path until she saw the . . .um . . ."_

"_Sound it out."_

"_Fa . . .fame . . .fame liar?"_

"_It is one word, not two."_

"_Fa-me-liar," frowned Palla-Palla._

"_Familiar," Aysiri corrected her._

"_That's when someone knows what something is," Palla-Palla recited._

"_Correct," Aysiri said and Palla-Palla beamed. "Now finish the sentence."_

"_...until she saw the . . . familiar . . . door in the old oak tree." Palla-Palla turned to Aysiri and got a nod of approval. The girl beamed again proudly._

* * *

_Aysiri and Father Melendez walked down the corridor of the orphanage from the makeshift library he maintained to the front of the building. Melendez was headed to the front to welcome a new orphan into the orphanage and see if there was anything he could do to make the young boy's stay easier. Aysiri was tagging along because they were discussing the last novel she had finished._

"_And did you enjoy the novel?" Melendez asked._

"_It was hard to follow at times," Aysiri confessed. In the six months she had been there, she had carved a swath through the library, consuming almost all of the fiction, and every romance novel they had. "Being out in space; it seems so unreal."_

"_Yet several countries have space programs," Melendez replied. "There is the Space Dock where ships are serviced and weather conditions are maintained, and several countries have long range, deep space missions."_

"_And I thought the text was a bit dry, too," Aysiri maintained._

"_Don't care for Bartlette?" Melendez smiled. "It's a matter of taste, I suppose. I've always liked his bold concepts, but I suppose he is a little stilted in his writing style." He glanced mischievously at the girl. "Still, it's more high-minded than the last novel you read. What was the title; 'A Maiden's Lament'?"_

"_I liked that book!" huffed Aysiri. "There was passion dripping from every page!"_

"_Another reason for you to read other things," Melendez grinned. "Ten year old girls shouldn't be exposed to too much passion."_

_They entered the atrium. Father Melendez broke away and went over to the seven year old boy with Sister Arcia. He knelt down to the boy and began talking to him in the simple, caring manner that Melendez had greeted every new orphan at the orphanage._

_Aysiri noticed none of this. Her attention was captivated by the vehicle idling outside. It contained a caseworker from the Child Welfare Ministry, but Aysiri was more interested in the vehicle itself. The vehicle hovered a foot off of the ground, suspended in the air. This had always fascinated her from the moment she'd stepped out of the jungle. Father Melendez had told her that the vehicles were powered by superconductor technology which repelled the ground and allowed them to whiz through the air. But he couldn't explain the technology, nor could any of the few technical volumes in his library._

_The hovercar began to glide off, free of the force of friction against it. Aysiri stepped through the front door and out into the front drive to watch it gain speed and disappear into the Sao Paulo streets._

"_Aysiri!" came the sharp tone of Sister Arcia. Aysiri hurried back inside. "You know you're not permitted to go outside of the orphanage unless accompanied!"_

"_I'm sorry, Sister Arcia," Aysiri offered. "I forgot myself."_

_Arcia escorted the new orphan off, but Melendez lingered. He came over to Aysiri and put his hand on her shoulder._

"_I know I'm not supposed to go out," Aysiri alibied. "I just - - wanted to watch that hovercar. They're so fascinating."_

"_No harm done," Melendez counseled. "Just remember that Sister Arcia is looking out for your welfare when she does that."_

"_Yes, Father," Aysiri sighed. "Father Melendez?"_

"_Yes, Aysiri?"_

"_May I ask for a book," she began hesitantly, "that isn't in your library?"_

"_You may ask. The Lord answers all questions," he said, "even if sometimes the answer is no. What book would you like? Another of those romance novels you like so much?"_

"_No, Father," Aysiri replied. "I'd like to learn about those superconductor engines that power those vehicles. May I?"_

"_Aysiri," he began, his hand on her shoulder again, "Something like that may be too complex for someone ten years old to understand. Perhaps you should conquer math first."_

_He could tell Aysiri was disappointed._

"_I'm not saying never," he told her. "If you show enough progress in math, then we'll see about getting you a book on the subject."_

_Excitement filled the girl._

"_Of course, those are all probably on crystal drive rather than old paper books," Melendez realized and Aysiri deflated just as fast. "Well, if the time comes, I suppose I can sweet-talk Sister Arcia into allowing you to borrow the crystal reader for a couple of hours."_

_Aysiri bounced up and down so hard that she almost lost her ceremonial crown._

* * *

"_Jun-Jun isn't supposed to be up in the tree," Palla-Palla said from the ground. She was looking up into the tree near the fence because Aysiri was nestled in the crook of the limb fourteen feet off of the ground._

"_Well no one will know if you don't stand there pointing me out," Aysiri, now eleven, called back down to her. _

_There was no book in her hands. Aysiri did her reading on the ground, to please Sister Arcia. She was in the tree watching the street on the other side of the wall and all of the hovercars whizzing by. More and more it was rivaling reading as her favorite past time. _

"_Palla-Palla will know," the girl protested. Aysiri had to admit she was right. For a moment she grew distracted knowing that she had been out-reasoned by Palla-Palla. Then one of the nuns popped her head out the door and called Palla-Palla inside. Aysiri returned her attention to the street._

_The machines were so fascinating. They were fast, faster than any jungle beast she'd known. That appealed to her. Yet their bodies were sleek and metallic, gleaming in the sun. Their very alien composition gave them an exotic quality that was also very appealing. The machines had an almost seductive quality to them. _

"_I wonder what it would be like?" Aysiri whispered to herself over the thought of actually being at the controls of one, rather than in the back seat, bracketed by a social worker and a police officer._

_Below her, a hoverbike pulled up to the curb. The rider dismounted and punched a security code into the bike. Aysiri watched everything from her vantage point in the tree. She watched him walk off. Her gaze returned to the bike._

_What would it be like?_

_Driven by curiosity and attraction, Aysiri climbed down from the tree and descended the wall with the speed and dexterity of a squirrel. She padded up to the bike as stealthily as her shoes would allow (another concession to "civilization") and looked it over with a wondrous expression. It seemed benign, but Aysiri could sense the power it contained. Her hand reached out and felt along the bike's body. Most of the bike was cool to the touch, but near the engine it was warm._

_What would it be like?_

_Heedless of who saw her, Aysiri mounted the bike. A thrill passed through her as she straddled the saddle and gripped the handlebars. It was like she was astride a leopard, but even more quick and powerful. Would it turn on her? She sat there for a few moments and the bike just sat beneath her, waiting for her to engage the engine._

_What would it be like?_

_Completely lost in her fantasy now, Aysiri allowed her impulse to control her. She knew how to start the bike from the material she'd read online during the night when she'd snuck into the administration office, impatient to learn about her desired object. Her finger glided over to the starter and pressed against it without engaging it. Did she dare? Distantly she knew she shouldn't, but that voice was drowned out by the desire to experience it. Could she go on living if she didn't do it?_

_Seized by the moment, Aysiri pressed the security code into the pad and unlocked the starter. She pressed the starter. The superconductor engine engaged instantly, sending a vibration through the vehicle that Aysiri at once found frightening and stimulating. The bike began to rise off of the pavement until it hovered several inches over it. Aysiri experienced a moment of doubt about her actions. Then desire won out again. She turned the propulsion regulators in the handles, guided the bike out of its parking spot, and shot out into traffic._

_The bike whizzed in and out of traffic with reckless abandon. Rather than be frightened, Aysiri felt her heart thumping in her chest and adrenaline course through her body. It was so exhilarating. There were a couple of close calls, and early on Aysiri had to remove her headdress and secure it to the bike rather than lose it. But the speed became a drug to her and the faster she went, the more she wanted. Astride this great mechanical beast, there was nothing Aysiri felt she couldn't do._

_Finally common sense won out over desire. Aysiri returned the bike to where it had been, locked it and dismounted. There seemed to be no one around who knew what she had done. Maybe God had taken pity on her and given her a taste of thrills and freedom. Aysiri scaled the wall, swung over to the tree and landed gracefully on the ground._

"_AYSIRI!" she heard and her heart sank. It was Sister Arcia. The nun stormed over to her as she stood rooted to the spot. "What have we told you about being outside the yard unescorted? And what do you know about the missing hoverbike that was parked outside?"_

"_I," Aysiri began, not wishing to confess but helpless to know what else to say, "I - - went - - riding on it."_

"_You stole it," Arcia demanded._

"_I brought it back!" the girl protested. "It's not damaged!"_

"_Your hand," Arcia said. _

_Aysiri's eyes grew wide. For a moment she thought to rebel. But the teachings of her Padre, of Father Melendez, and even of Sister Arcia smothered the thought. Reluctantly the hand came up. Sister Arcia's ruler found its mark with deadly accuracy._

"_You will go to confession. You will confess your sin. You will perform all penance assigned to you. AND you will reflect on what you have done."_

_Aysiri started to head for the rectory. Then she stopped and turned toward the nun._

"_I just wanted to - - to know what it felt like," she said. "I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to know. And it felt good! Why is it wrong if it feels so good? Why would God make me feel good about something that's wrong?"_

"_The bike wasn't yours," Arcia replied. "Do you recall when Manuel tried to take a book from you? You broke his eye socket. But it probably felt good to Manuel up to that point. Should we now allow the owner of the bike to break your eye socket?"_

_Defeated, Aysiri trudged off to the rectory. She knew what she'd done was wrong, knew it all along._

_And yet she wanted so badly to do it again._

* * *

_Ten Hail Marys later, after dinner break when everyone else was in the entertainment room or studying, Aysiri was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor with an ancient scouring brush and a bucket of soapy water. That had been Sister Arcia's way of adding to her punishment. Her knees hurt and her shoulders ached and Aysiri still had about half of the hall to do._

_But what hurt most with the look of disappointment in the eyes of Father Melendez. When he talked to her, he said that he understood and gently questioned her as to whether she understood that what she'd done was wrong. Aysiri explained that she did, and she did, but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that his opinion of her had gone down._

_Oh, why did she do it? And why did she still want to do it again?_

_Aysiri stopped scrubbing when she saw a pair of legs wearing ankle socks and black pseudo-leather shoes standing about five feet before her. She looked up and found Palla-Palla._

"_Please don't be sad, Jun-Jun," Palla-Palla offered in her mystical child-like fashion. "Father Melendez-Sir still likes you. And Palla-Palla still likes you, too."_

"_Thanks, Palla-Palla," Aysiri sighed. "But I'm not sure you're right about Father Melendez." She dipped the brush in the water and began scrubbing the floor. "Oh, God, I wish I hadn't done that. But at the same time, I'm glad I did."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because," Aysiri began, "I discovered something today - - about me. Something I love. When I was on that bike, speeding along, I was free. I was alive. I was - - more than just someone stuck on the ground." She smiled to herself as she scrubbed. "When I'm older, I'm going to get one of those. I have to. I won't be complete until I do." She sighed. "And until then, I'm stuck - - rooted to the earth."_

"_Oh," Palla-Palla replied softly. "Palla-Palla is sorry that Sister Arcia-Ma'am is making Jun-Jun scrub the floors."_

"_I guess I deserve it," Aysiri mused. "I flew before I was ready and I got burned, just like Icarus."_

"_Icky-who?"_

"_It's a story I read in the library," Aysiri grinned. "Maybe I'll read it to you some time."_

"_Palla-Palla would like that," the ten-year-old said. "Would it be OK with Jun-Jun if Palla-Palla helped her scrub the floor?"_

_Aysiri looked up. "Wouldn't Sister Arcia object?"_

_Palla-Palla shrugged. "Palla-Palla wants to help. Jun-Jun is her friend and Palla-Palla wants to help her. And if she hears Sister Arcia-Ma'am coming, she'll hide real good."_

"_Well, I appreciate the offer," Aysiri hesitated. "But I've only got the one brush."_

_Smiling, Palla-Palla produced another scrub brush from behind her back. A small laugh burst from Aysiri's mouth before she could contain it._

"_Thank you, Palla-Palla," Aysiri chuckled and surrendered to the force of her friend's personality and the growing realization that in spite of her demeanor, Palla-Palla knew best._

Continued in Chapter 8

.


	8. Crash Landing

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 8: "Crash Landing"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

A limousine hover car glided along the streets of Sao Paulo, its destination the Saint Francis Cathedral. Inside, five young women made a trip they really didn't want to make.

"Cere came along about a six months later," Jun related. "She was twelve while Palla-Palla and I were eleven."

"Was it a difficult adjustment?" Usa asked.

"That assumes I ever adjusted," Cere sighed.

* * *

_Veramar was little more than a volcanic rock in the South Pacific. For centuries before it even took a name it had been ignored by the rest of the world and the Polynesian natives of the island contented themselves with their fishing and their agriculture. Then, in 2912, Saxium was discovered on the island. Saxium, a crystalline ore exposed to radioactive fallout from Twentieth Century A-Bomb tests which had mutated over nearly a thousand years, was an information conductor and a key element in the crystalline revolution of the Thirtieth Century. This made the world suddenly interested in the island. Money flowed in. A faction of the population established a government, named the island state Veramar and began regulating the exploitation of Saxium. Naturally rival factions sprang up with grievances against the government and, despite the diplomatic intervention of several nations led by the King and Queen of Japan, the disputes between factions erupted into violence._

_Stationed in Veramar as the diplomatic envoy from Brasilia was Simone Velandia, a young member of the Brasilian diplomatic corps on the fast track. With him were his wife Alicia and his daughter Cerese. Cerese had initially been opposed to moving to Veramar, but quickly fell in love with the tropical island and its exotic flora, along with the smooth, athletic tropical boys of the island. The Velandias moved in government circles, attended parties, cultural performances and other State-sponsored events and were generally untouched by the strife between local factions. _

_Then one evening a bottle with a flaming rag in its neck crashed through the window of their home. Outside their home, the Velandias could see an angry mob going from house to house in the "diplomatic district", rousting the occupants from their homes and beating or shooting them in the streets. Simone barricaded the doors with everything he could find while Alicia communicated with the police and Cerese cowered in a corner. When the mob came to their door, Simone herded his family into the basement and tried to hide under the stairs._

_It didn't work. All three were roughly hauled into the front yard by seven desperate looking locals, men and women mixed. One, the leader, pulled a laser pistol from his belt and shot Simone before the eyes of his family. Alicia howled hysterically until he turned to her and mercilessly shot her down, too. Cerese, just twelve years old, watched all of this in horror, then saw the same man point his pistol at her. At that moment, she wasn't certain if dying would be a blessing or a curse. All she could think about was the muzzle of the laser pistol pointing directly at her._

_Then it fell to the ground as the man holding it crumpled, a hole through the side of his head. The rest of the group scattered and Cerese became aware of government police firing on the mob. From that point, Cerese went numb, staring at the bodies of her parents as chaos erupted all around her._

_Three days later, Cerese Antonia Velandia was back in Brasilia. The Ministry of Child Welfare had flown her to Sao Paulo because that's where Pilar, the sister of Alicia Velandia, resided. A case worker was in the room, trying to explain to her why she was being sent to Tanto Quatro Pai orphanage._

"_We contacted your Aunt Pilar," the case worker, a squat matron of sixty and a career civil servant. "But she has refused to accept custody of you. I'm sorry."_

"_Yeah, that's Aunt Pilar," Cerese said softly. "I'd just get in the way."_

"_You don't have any other relatives?"_

"_No," Cerese replied. "Dad had no brothers or sisters and my grandparents died in the chemical accident. Mom just had Aunt Pilar. My other grandparents are both dead, too. And they didn't have any brothers or sisters; that thing the government did a long time ago to deal with over-population."_

"_Yes," nodded the case worker._

"_There's nobody," Cerese said. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. "I'm all alone."_

"_That's why we're placing you with Tanto Quatro Pai," the case worker told her. "They'll look out for you, give you some support and structure, allow you to continue your education. I've heard fine things about some of the people there. And maybe after a while, your aunt can find it in her heart to accept responsibility."_

"_Sure," Cerese sighed._

"_It will get better, Cerese," the case worker offered. _

"_I doubt it could get any worse," Cerese said._

* * *

_The case worker escorted Cerese through the front door of Tanto Quatro Pai, the Catholic-run orphanage in Sao Paulo. Cerese looked up for the first time and examined the building. It was old and dingy and lived-in. There was ancient tile on the floor and the walls were a drab beige. This was a big step down from where she had been living. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a tall, reasonably handsome priest approach. He had a kind demeanor that Cerese didn't quite notice. Flanking him was a stern-looking nun and a young girl with blue hair and a wide smile. Immediately Cerese wondered what the girl had to smile about, living in a dingy building in a world where cruelty could strike at any moment._

_And the girl's smile dimmed._

"_You are Cerese Velandia?" Father Melendez asked. She nodded. "Please accept my condolences for your loss. Welcome to Tanto Quatro Pai. We'll try to make your stay here as pleasant as we can."_

"_The case worker told me that I shouldn't bring any of my belongings except for clothing," Cerese said pointedly. "Why is that?"_

"_You're free to bring other possessions," Sister Arcia told her. "It's just that we can't be responsible for their safety. We have a number of children here who came from undesirable circumstances and some of them haven't yet learned right from wrong."_

"_Then I'll just lock my room when I'm not in it," Cerese commented._

"_We don't have individual rooms here," Arcia replied. "You'll be quartered in a dormitory with the other girls."_

"_What?" gasped Cerese._

"_I realize it isn't what you're used to, Cerese," Father Melendez said, his tone sympathetic. "We do the best we can for all of God's unfortunate children. And perhaps this will give you the opportunity to meet new people, learn new ways and hopefully gain new friends."_

"_Wonderful," Cerese choked._

"_Palla-Palla hopes you can be happy here and make new friends," chirped the blue haired girl, again smiling happily. "Palla-Palla's name is Palla-Palla. She's going to call you Cere-Cere."_

"_My name is Cerese," the girl declared._

"_Palla-Palla knows, but that's too hard for Palla-Palla to say, so she's going to call you Cere-Cere," Palla-Palla explained._

"_She's sort of our unofficial greeter for all of our new children," Melendez added. Cerese looked at the girl._

"_Palla-Palla hopes she can be Cere-Cere's friend," the girl beamed._

"_Are you some low-achiever or something?" Cerese asked disdainfully. Palla-Palla's smile dimmed again._

"_We prefer to think of her as eternally blessed with God's cheerfulness and mercy," Melendez replied gently, putting a hand on Palla-Palla's shoulder._

"_Your school transcripts have arrived and we'll be picking up your education starting tomorrow," Arcia informed her cooly. "Come along now. We'll get you settled and I'll outline the rules and schedules for our children."_

_Arcia led Cerese off. Melendez and Palla-Palla watched them leave._

"_You must forgive her, Palla-Palla," Melendez said. "She's suffered a great tragedy and her pain influences her responses. And this is all very different for her, so she has yet to adapt."_

"_Palla-Palla will help Cere-Cere if Cere-Cere will let her," the girl said._

"_You do God's work, Palla-Palla," smiled the priest._

* * *

_Left in the dormitory, her head swimming, Cerese lay back on the coarse, worn mattress and sheets of her bunk and stared up at the ceiling. And she'd thought her life couldn't get any worse. It was odd; the rebels in Veramar had killed her parents, but she was the one who had ended up in prison._

_Several of the other girls were observing her, trying to judge what kind of person she was or examining her for weakness. Cerese ignored them. Then there was the clank of metal on the floor and a yelp of pain. Cerese looked over at the far bunk. By a table near the bunk, a girl with green hair and a bizarre headdress was shaking her hand as if she wished to shake the pain out of it. On the table was a collection of metal parts put together in a manner to resemble - - something. Sighing, Cerese rolled over and resumed brooding over the terrible turn her life had taken. But that was interrupted by a steady clang of metal against metal. Finally it became too much._

"_What are you doing?" Cerese snapped in exasperation, sitting up on the top bunk and staring at the girl._

"_Building a superconductor engine," Jun smiled. "I'm sorry, is it disturbing you? I'd take it outside, but it's cooler to work in here."_

"_Building a what?" gasped Cerese. _

"_A superconductor engine," Jun repeated. "Like they have in hover cars. Although this is too small to power a hover car. But it could power a hover bike," and she glanced at it in aggravation, "if I could get the wave manifold to center."_

"_And that involves pounding on it?"_

"_Nothing else has worked," Jun shrugged. "I figure if I can wedge the manifold into the couplings . . ."_

_Cerese waved her quiet. "Well can you put something between the metal and your metal tool so that it doesn't make so much noise? Some wood or cloth or something?"_

"_I suppose I could," Jun reasoned. She brightened. "It would probably keep the metal housing from getting so many dings, too! Thanks! I'm Aysiri, by the way. But everybody calls me Jun."_

"_I'm thrilled," Cerese muttered and rolled back onto her bunk, her back to everyone. Jun was initially disappointed, but her engine quickly drew her attention._

_After a while, Cerese felt the call of nature. Climbing down from her top bunk, the girl headed for the toilet. After washing up, she looked in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her magenta hair seemed dull and lifeless. Her full mouth was drab and downcast._

"_Maybe I should have died with you, Mom and Dad," Cerese whispered._

_Emerging from the bathroom, Cerese spotted one of the other children on her bunk. It was a young girl of seven, her black hair short and her dress barely covering her. She was digging under the pillow where Cerese had stashed her cosmetics bag._

"_Hey! Get away from there!" barked Cerese._

_The girl looked up, resembling an animal more than a human. With Cerese's first step toward her, the girl was off, down the ladder and headed across the room, Cerese's cosmetics bag under her arm._

"_Come back here with that!" Cerese yelled and gave chase. But like chasing an animal, the child stayed three steps ahead of her. As a chorus of laughter from the other girls began to rise, Cerese continued to chase the child without success. However, the chase got too close to where Jun was working on her engine. A hand shot out, seized the dress and pulled child and all up off the floor. _

"_Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!" bellowed the child, Carmen by name, as her legs pin-wheeled and she wriggled in Jun's grasp._

"_Carmen," Jun replied matter-of-factly. "What has Sister Arcia told you about stealing?"_

"_NOT STEALING! MINE!" the child roared._

"_It is not! You took that from under my pillow!" snapped Cerese as she approached. Carmen began to thrash harder as Jun continued to hold her off the floor._

"_Carmen, I'll tell Sister Arcia," warned Jun. "She'll bring the ruler."_

_Instantly Carmen went limp and hung by her dress. Cerese could see the wide-eyed fear in the child._

"_Now give the girl her bag back," Jun told her._

_Reluctantly Carmen extended the bag out to Cerese. Cerese snatched it away from her. Jun lowered Carmen to the floor. When she was released, the girl flew over to her bunk and crouched in it, eyeing them suspiciously._

"_Don't think too badly of her," Jun said to Cerese. "She's had a rough time."_

"_Lots of people have had rough times," Cerese grumbled. "They don't resort to stealing."_

"_Look, I don't know the specifics, but I know you've just suffered a tragedy," Jun offered. "Just remember, we're ALL orphans here. We've all had it rough. Carmen over there, she never knew her dad. Her mom overdosed on 'Caina. When they found her, she'd been living on the streets for eight months, foraging for food and sleeping where she could, with no one looking out for her. She was as much animal as she was human. You just don't flip a switch and become civilized after something like that. It takes a while to learn."_

_Cerese returned Carmen's suspicious stare, but Jun could see her story had moved the girl._

"_OK," Cerese replied finally. "Thank you for your help. Anything else I should know?"_

"_I guess take your bag with you when you use the bathroom," Jun chuckled. "By the way, I don't think I caught your name earlier."_

"_Cerese," she said._

"_It gets better, Cerese," Jun told her._

"_Yeah, that's what everybody keeps saying," Cerese sighed and headed for her bunk._

* * *

_Morning came and Cerese forced herself out of bed. After showering, she paused at the mirror to work on her hair. At first she was going to let it go, but Cerese decided that if she made the attempt to look pretty she might feel better. Though only twelve, Cerese was already beginning to show the first signs of womanly maturity and the ribbons decorating her hair made her natural beauty stand out even more. Encouraged, Cerese took out some shadow and began applying it to her eyelids. Nothing too overt; just enough to impress._

_Doing this, though, reminded her of the times her mother would give her cosmetic tips, showing her how to apply, how much was too much and what to accentuate. A lump formed in her throat. It seemed now like every memory she had of one of her parents would inevitably connect with that awful picture of them laying on their front lawn, dead._

"_Don't try too hard, honey," a dark haired vixenish girl about fourteen said as she leaned in beside Cerese styling her hair. "There's nobody here to impress. You're the new one, aren't you?"_

"_Yes," Cerese answered neutrally._

"_Name's Elena," the girl continued. She nodded to the two teen girls on Cerese's other side. "That's Carmelita and Ramona. So what's your name?"_

"_Cerese," she replied. An uneasy feeling was creeping up on her._

"_Just how old are you?" asked Ramona, a mixed heritage girl with thick red hair and caramel skin._

"_Twelve."_

"_Twelve? And you look like that?"_

"_And she's not even trying hard," chuckled Carmelita, a squat girl of Incan ancestry developing rapidly._

"_What's the matter, Ramona?" sneered Elena. "Can't take the competition?"_

"_You're the one who better watch out, Elena," Ramona shot back. "If she looks like this now, you're the one who needs to worry about competition."_

_Cerese sighed, stored her makeup and turned to leave. These conversations were always petty and tiresome even before she'd been orphaned. Now it was just a colossal waste of her time and an irritant to her brittle nerves. But Cerese hadn't noted the change in Elena's expression until Elena suddenly stepped in her path._

"_I didn't say you could go," Elena told her. Several of the younger girls quickly slid past them and out the door._

"_I didn't ask," Cerese replied disdainfully._

"_You think you're hot stuff?" Elena persisted. "Just because you throw a few ribbons in your hair and paint your face you're suddenly better than me?"_

"_We're going to be late for breakfast," Cerese said and tried to push past Elena, but the girl shoved her back._

"_Afraid of Sister Arcia?" she mocked._

"_No, I'm afraid I'll have to spend one more minute with you," Cerese replied acidly._

_Cerese again tried to walk around Elena. As she passed, Elena reached out and snatched a handful of magenta hair. Jerking back savagely, Elena pulled Cerese off balance and she fell to the floor. Immediately Elena began kicking the prone girl and quickly her two cohorts joined in._

"_One thing you haven't learned yet, Princess!" snarled Elena as she kicked Cerese. "I'm the queen around here! You could have been one of us, but you blew that chance!"_

_Cerese didn't realize they had stopped kicking her until moments after they had stopped. She lay on the cold tile floor of the bathroom in agony. Helplessly she endured it as the trio pulled at her hair._

"_Still think you're pretty?" snickered Elena after they stopped jerking at her hair. "Better check the mirror again."_

_The door shut behind Elena and her partners. Cerese barely heard it. It was a few minutes later that Cerese was found by one of the nuns._

Continued in Chapter 9

.


	9. Humbling Experience

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 9: "Humbling Experience"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

* * *

By Bill K.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" gasped Hotaru. She and the others had just heard about an incident in a bathroom back at Tanto Quatro Pai that had left Cere battered. "Are you all right?"

Then she realized what she'd just said. Amid looks of amusement, the girl colored with chagrin.

"Yeah, I think she got better," chuckled Usa.

"Why do people have to be like that?" Hotaru wondered out loud.

"Arrogance," muttered Usa. "Insecurity. Or both."

"Or she's just a bitch," Jun added. Cere smothered a laugh.

"Jun-Jun isn't supposed to say things like that," Palla-Palla cautioned. "Father Melendez-Sir wouldn't like it."

"Yeah, I guess he wouldn't," Jun sighed. "Even if it is true. He always believed there was good in everyone, if only he could coax it out."

"Sounds like Mom," Usa said.

"The Queen and Father Melendez would have really gotten along," Jun remarked.

* * *

_The first thing Cerese saw when she woke up was the crucifix affixed on the door. The replica of Jesus stared down at her, his agony clear on his face as he hung by his wrists and thorns bit into his forehead, was not a comforting sight. It matched how she felt. She attempted to inhale and received a stinging rebuke from her ribs. Looking around, Cerese saw a chrome pitcher of water on the table next to the bed she lay in. Peering into the reflective surface, she saw the bandage over her eye and the bruises on her face._

"_Why did they have to disfigure me?" Cerese wondered forlornly. "Why couldn't they just kill me?"_

_The door opened and Cerese turned her good eye to it quickly. Her speed was motivated by fear that Elena and her two running mates had come to finish the job. Instead, she found Sister Arcia and Palla-Palla in the doorway. In her short stay at Tanto Quatro Pai, Cerese had judged Sister Arcia as strict, harsh and unyielding. But this Sister Arcia was different. She seemed on the verge of tears._

"_You have a broken rib," Arcia told her gently, "multiple bruises on your face and torso, one closed eye from bruising." Arcia took a steadying breath. "And - - they cut off most of your hair."_

_Cerese's hand shot up to her head, bringing another rebuke from her rib. A glance at the pitcher confirmed what she felt: her hair had been chopped off with a scissors. Tears welled and streamed down porcelain cheeks._

"_It's probably small consolation," Arcia continued, "but Elena, Carmelita and Ramona were all expelled from the orphanage and remanded back to the Sao Paulo Youth Ministry. They've all been committed to juvenile detention until they come of age."_

"_How?" Cerese asked softly, in shock. "I know how things work. It's just my word against theirs."_

"_Palla-Palla heard everything," Arcia told her. "She told us everything that happened."_

"_And that was enough? I mean, she's . . ." and Cerese stopped short. She glanced at Palla-Palla with chagrin._

"_Palla-Palla has a reputation," Arcia said, her hand resting on Palla-Palla's shoulder. "She doesn't lie. I'm not sure she's capable of it. And while it might not stand up in court, it was enough for me. And the two of us were enough for the Youth Ministry. After all, residency here is at our approval and can be revoked." The nun straightened her shoulders. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive them for what they did. Jesus teaches forgiveness. And I hope you can forgive me for allowing this to happen. I try to teach discipline and respect to all of our charges, but sometimes I fail."_

_Cerese nodded. "Is this permanent?"_

"_The doctor doesn't think so," Arcia replied. "Your wounds will heal. Your hair will grow back. Whether the wound in your heart heals, though, is up to you. Jesus was nailed to the cross and died, and still forgave his oppressors. Forgiveness has amazing healing powers."_

_Palla-Palla stepped forward._

"_Thank you for telling them what happened," Cerese said to her, averting her eyes._

"_Lena-Lena shouldn't have done that," Palla-Palla said. Then she brought up her hand. A card was in it. "This is for you, Cere-Cere."_

_Skeptically Cerese took it. It was a white card with a crude drawing of a girl with pink hair. She was surrounded by red hearts. One of the hearts said "we love you". At the top was the message "get well soon". Cerese looked from it to Palla-Palla._

"_It's a Get Well card," Palla-Palla proudly proclaimed. "Palla-Palla drew it herself! Um, but Jun-Jun did the writing because Palla-Palla still doesn't spell very good."_

"_Why?" Cerese asked. "It's a lovely thought, but I haven't exactly been nice to you."_

"_Cere-Cere misses her mommy and daddy. That's why she's snooty," Palla-Palla replied innocently. "Palla-Palla misses her mommy, too, so she understands. It doesn't mean that she can't be nice to people. That's what Mr. Jesus-Sir says."_

_The tears trickled down again._

"_Maybe Mr. Jesus-Sir is right," Cerese said hoarsely. "I'll try to stop being so, um, snooty. Thank you for the card, um, Palla-Palla was it?"_

_Palla-Palla gave her an exaggerated nod, a huge smile on her face._

* * *

_After two weeks of convalescing, Cerese emerged from her private room and rejoined the rest of the population. She wore a knit cap that she considered the definition of ugly, but which concealed the far uglier condition of her hair. Father Melendez walked with her to give her some psychological support and protection, for he judged the girl to be very reticent about rejoining the others. As they entered the girls' dormitory room, they saw several of the girls reading, playing or working on their school assignments. They looked up as Cerese and Melendez entered. No one said anything, as they were too unsure of Cerese and her place in the orphanage. Cerese remained silent as well, for the same reason._

_Then they spotted Jun on the far bunk. She was reading out loud to Palla-Palla on one side and Carmen on the other, the two girls hanging on every word to find out whether the caterpillar could endure the taunts of the other insects. Carmen looked up and instantly tensed. That caused Jun to stop and look up. But Palla-Palla smiled and waved at them. Melendez looked to Cerese to see her reaction. Cerese gave her a timid smile and wave. That calmed Carmen and Jun went back to reading._

"_They're two of the more enjoyable people we have here," Melendez said as the pair headed for the courtyard. "Just about a year ago, Aysiri was barely conversant in the ways of civilization, much the way Carmen is now. She's learned so much, and will easily become a productive member of society. And Palla-Palla is such a joy. I hardly believe it's been five years."_

"_I don't think I've ever met anyone like her," Cerese commented. "But what kind of future does she have? She's, pardon me for saying it, a low achiever and she's always going to be a low achiever. What can she do in society?"_

"_Make it better," smiled Melendez. "The world will always need that. When she reaches legal age, I hope to convince her to stay on at the orphanage as a lay counselor. I think she's just what some of the children we get would need."_

"_Maybe you're right," mumbled Cerese._

"_Have you considered what you would like to do with your life? You won't be here forever."_

"_Thankfully," she sighed._

"_Cerese," Melendez stopped and said. Cerese stopped and looked at him. "Darkness will enter all of our lives at one time. But God gives us a choice: either we can curse the darkness and remain blind and alone, or we can seek out the light and its comfort. I know this is not what you are used to. But this can be an enriching learning experience. You will meet people here whom you would never have met in your previous life, people with different views and different experiences. You have the chance to learn from them and in turn touch their lives with what you have previously learned."_

"_Well, if they're anything like Elena, maybe I'm better off," Cerese scowled._

"_Don't judge everyone by the standard of Elena," Melendez advised her. "Elena sowed bitterness and jealousy, and she reaped a poor reward for it. And even then you can learn something from the experience. You can learn not to treat your fellow person with disdain."_

"_Yeah, I get it," Cerese sighed. "Stop being snooty."_

_Then something caught her eye. By the building was a cluster of begonias struggling to survive against the wall, three of their red blooms seeking the sun. Cerese squatted down next to them and gently caressed the plant._

"_An interesting metaphor, no?" Melendez said. "Despite less than favorable conditions, beauty struggles to grow - - much like the orphans we care for. And with a little attention and care, perhaps they can bloom into something that benefits everyone."_

"_The ground doesn't look very fertile," Cerese judged. "And the building shields it from the sun for part of the day. I'm amazed it's bloomed at all."_

"_Perhaps God wills it," Melendez assessed."You seem to be well versed in horticulture."_

"_It was a hobby of mine," Cerese said, eyes misting, "back when I lived with . . ." and her voice trailed off._

"_Perhaps you can put such skill to use," suggested Melendez, "if you are agreeable."_

_Cerese looked up at him curiously._

"_We must all do our share to maintain the orphanage," Melendez told her. "Among those tasks, the grounds must be maintained. And if, in the judgement of the person in charge of that maintenance, improvements could be made to make this a more attractive place to live, those improvements could be implemented."_

"_Really?" Cerese asked, standing and facing him._

"_We don't have much in the way of funds. But someone with a creative gift could make such a task work under those restrictions. And it will give her something to do besides lament a past life lost."_

_Cerese considered the proposal._

* * *

"Into flowers even then?" Usa asked. Cere shrugged.

"Into them?" gasped Jun. "She turned the courtyard into a jungle inside of six months! I thought I was back in the rainforest!"

"You did not," huffed Cere.

"I thought they didn't have any money," Hotaru wondered.

"Father Melendez scraped up enough to buy some seeds," Jun explained. "And Cere would collect food scraps from the meals, dice them up into mulch and use it as fertilizer. It was the only time I could remember her getting dirty."

"I got dirty," Cere objected. "I just didn't go out of my way to do it like you with that silly engine."

"Hey, they didn't call you 'The Princess' for nothing," Jun jabbed.

"Oh, whatever!" fumed Cere.

* * *

_Cerese's eyes ripped open, expecting at any moment to be gunned down just like her parents had been. It took a moment to recognize where she was. The dormitory at the orphanage was still and dark. She wasn't back on the island in the midst of the counter protests. She was safe._

_Or was she? A shadow appeared on her left. Cerese gave off an exclamation of fear and pressed up against the wall next to the lower bunk (the bunk she had claimed when Carmelita had been shipped off to youth services). Were the revolutionaries back to get her?_

"_It's just Palla-Palla," the shadow whispered. _

"_Don't do that," muttered Cerese._

"_Palla-Palla is sorry," the shadow offered._

"_What do you want?"_

_The shadow didn't answer._

"_Well?"_

"_Palla-Palla was worried about Cere-Cere," the shadow confessed. "Cere-Cere was flippy-flopping in her sleep. And she was talking to someone that wasn't there."_

"_Sorry if I woke you," Cerese offered impatiently._

"_Cere-Cere was dreaming about her mommy and daddy again," Palla-Palla stated sympathetically._

"_How do you know that?" Cerese grumbled._

"_Cere-Cere was saying 'don't kill me' to nobody."_

_Silence followed._

"_I don't know what you mean," Cerese muttered. " My parents died in an air car accident."_

"_Mr. God-Sir says you shouldn't bear false witness," Palla-Palla replied. "It's not nice to the bears."_

"_For someone who's a low achiever, you can be pretty perceptive," Cerese mumbled._

"_Hey, don't call her that," another shadow said from the other side of the bunk._

"_Did I wake you, too?" Cerese asked._

"_I'm a light sleeper," Jun shrugged as she sat on the edge of the bunk. "It's something you learn to do in the jungle."_

"_Was sleeping in your underwear something you learned in the jungle, too?" Cerese observed with disapproval. While she slept in a nightgown made from a man's oversized dress shirt and Palla-Palla wore a full-length nightgown, Jun opted for an undershirt and a pair of panties._

"_It's hot in the jungle," bristled Jun. "And there weren't any places to buy silk nighties like you're probably used to."_

"_You're not in the jungle now," Cerese sniffed haughtily. "It doesn't stop you from adapting."_

"_Brother, I wish something would knock you off your high horse," scowled Jun. "Why don't you go back to . . ."_

_Jun stopped when she noticed Cerese cloud over with emotion._

"_Yeah, sorry," Jun grimaced. "Shouldn't have said that."_

"_Palla-Palla is sorry that Cere-Cere misses her mommy and daddy so much," the shadow said. "The bad men shouldn't have done what they did._"

"_I keep wondering why," Cerese squeaked. "What did killing my parents accomplish? What did anyone gain from it? The protesters were all killed. The government is still in power. How did anyone benefit from ruining my life?"_

"_Well," Jun began, "Father Melendez says everything happens for a reason; even tragedy. That God has a plan and everything that happens is a step forward in that plan. We just have to have faith because we can't always see the plan."_

"_You believe that?" Cerese asked._

"_It's hard sometimes. Especially when Father Melendez says the plan might be nothing more than to test you to see if you're strong enough to resist falling into sin. Doesn't say much for someone if they'll inflict pain and suffering on a person just to test their faith."_

"_Can you save that stuff for the rectory!" one of the other girls hissed. "I'm trying to sleep!"_

"_Yeah, we probably all should," Jun suggested. "You going to be able to go back to sleep?"_

"_I'll try," sighed Cerese. "I just don't know if I'll ever be able to get used to this. I was so happy before. Sometimes I think I should have died with my parents."_

"_Palla-Palla is glad Cere-Cere didn't," Palla-Palla offered, leaning in so she was visible in the dark. "Then Palla-Palla would never have met Cere-Cere. Palla-Palla is very glad she met Cere-Cere. Cere-Cere is very pretty and very smart. And she'd be even smarter if she wasn't so snooty."_

_Jun snickered. So did several of the other girls in the dark dorm._

"_Thanks," Cerese scowled, "I think."_

* * *

_Eight months passed. The grounds had bloomed into a floral masterpiece, the plants coordinated by color, genus and growth needs. And the residents of the orphanage had learned, the hard way, not to disturb the flowers. One young boy had been caught by Cerese plucking the flowers and received an angry tongue-lashing that some say still echo on the courtyard walls._

_One thing, though, that had not bloomed was Cerese's attitude toward the other children. Though she'd managed an uneasy relationship with Jun and Palla-Palla, the other girls in the dorm steered clear of "The Princess". She in turn had tried to coexist with them, but couldn't seem to bridge the gap between the poorer culture they were from and the upper level culture she had come from. Father Melendez had tried to guide her toward accepting them and up to a point she did. But to them she was aloof and to her they were unworthy of her time. _

_In addition, Tanto Quatro Pai was still a rundown way-station for unfortunate lessers in her mind, despite the new floral beauty of the courtyard. Cerese had made a pair of appeals to her Aunt Pilar to rescue her from the orphanage. This was the third._

"_What did she say?" Father Melendez asked as the girl severed the vid-phone connection. The facility had four vid-phones, one in the general office and three more in the offices of the three ranking priests. This unit was in Father Melendez's office._

"_I left a message," Cerese murmured, "again. And it'll probably be ignored - - again."_

"_May I ask something of you?" Melendez ventured. "Something that may be difficult for you to accept?"_

"_You want me to forgive her," Cerese said blankly, staring at nothing._

"_We do not all have the strength to do what is best for the world," Melendez advised the girl. "Many only have the strength to do what is best for themselves."_

"_That's Aunt Pilar," sighed Cerese._

"_It is easy to recognize qualities in others, but more difficult to recognize the same qualities in ourselves," Melendez cautioned. "Will you condemn another because that person will not do what is best for you, or will you forsake your own benefit in order to forgive? Do you have that strength?"_

"_Sometimes I wonder," Cerese commented as she exited the office._

_Cerese drifted out into the courtyard. The gardens she had sown made her happy and she needed to be happy at that moment. But there was no refuge in the courtyard. Outside two of the older boys, ages ten and twelve, were bullying an eight-year-old. For a moment, Cerese considered interceding. But interceding might only invite the wrath of the two boys down on her. She neither wanted nor needed that. _

_So she turned away._

Continued in Chapter 10

.


	10. The Lone Wolf

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 10: "The Lone Wolf"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

_Cerese turned away from the two boys bullying a third. It wasn't her fight. And what could she do besides get hurt, anyway?_

_A cry of pain and alarm sounded from the direction of the confrontation. Cerese looked back. The eight-year-old boy was on the ground, cowering before the two older boys. The two boys were threatening him, looming menacingly over him, almost angry that their victim was unable or unwilling to mount a defense. _

_Cerese felt her throat tighten as she experienced flashbacks to that night on the island. If only someone had interceded then. Maybe her parents would still be alive._

_But she was afraid, too afraid to act. Then the door opened and Cerese saw Palla-Palla staring out at what was happening._

"_Palla-Palla!" Cerese hissed. "Go get Sister Arcia!"_

_Palla-Palla stared at her in confusion, as if she sensed the girl's fear._

"_Hurry!"_

_And the blue-haired girl was off. Cerese looked back at the three boys and saw one of them kick the eight-year-old. _

"_Many only have the strength to do what is best for themselves."_

_Father Melendez's voice echoed in her head and she hated herself. But she seemed paralyzed, for the kick brought back unpleasant memories as well. The boy howled as another kick was delivered to his back. Her desire to act was at war with her desire to be safe. Finally she remembered the three-prong hand cultivator that was laying at her feet. Picking it up, she started forward. If only she had the courage to use it if she had to._

"_Hey!" Cerese shouted as she advanced. "Stop kicking him!"_

"_Mind your own business!" snarled Ramon, now fifteen years old and enamored only of himself._

"_Stop it!" Cerese commanded anxiously. Her advance had halted, but she clutched the cultivator in her hand tightly._

"_This little shit stole from me!" barked Ramon. "I'm going to teach him a lesson!"_

"_I'm sorry!" wailed the eight-year-old._

"_Shut up!" Ramon yelled and kicked him again._

"_You made your point!" Cerese bellowed. "Stop kicking him!"_

"_What are you going to do, Princess?" Ramon turned on her. "Just because you think you're better than us doesn't mean we have to do what you say!" Then he noticed the cultivator. "Going to use that on me? Just try it!"_

"_Stop that this instant!" roared Sister Arcia. The nun steamed out of the main building, with Palla-Palla trailing behind her. "Get away from him, both of you!"_

_Fearlessly the nun came up to the two boys as they backed away from their victim. Cerese and Palla-Palla hung back._

"_Give me your hand," demanded Sister Arcia._

"_He stole from me!" protested Ramon._

"_GIVE ME YOUR HAND!"_

_Rather than comply, Ramon's hand shot out and shoved the nun to the ground. Cerese raised the cultivator in a threatening manner, though her heart was hammering in her chest. Palla-Palla gasped loudly in shock._

"_Cerese, put that down!" Arcia barked from her prone position. Without any outward fear, the nun got to her feet and stared at Ramon._

"_He stole from me!" Ramon reiterated angrily._

"_Being sinned against does not give you license to sin against others," Arcia told him coldly. "Report to Father Melendez. I will join you shortly."_

_Helpless to do anything else, Ramon stalked off. His partner had long since disappeared in the confusion. Arcia went over and extended a hand to the eight-year-old._

"_Are you hurt, _Vicente?" she asked in a more gentle tone.

"_My back hurts," the boy replied._

"_Go to the infirmary and let the doctor look at you," Arcia told him. Vicente nodded and started to walk away, but was stopped by the nun's hand. "After that, you will return what you stole from Ramon. Then you will go to confession and confess your sin. Then you will do all penance assigned to you. Do you understand?"_

_Spooked, the boy nodded. As he scurried off, Sister Arcia walked over to Cerese. Noticing that she still had the cultivator in her hand, Cerese whipped it behind her._

"_Your heart was in the right place," the nun advised her. "But in the future, please don't use those tools as weapons and don't contemplate using them on another person."_

"_I," Cerese began, "it was just to protect myself."_

"_I know," Sister Arcia replied. "There are such things in this world as necessary evils. They're evil just the same. They are necessary because this is sometimes a violent world; but if we did not use them, perhaps they would no longer be necessary. Please go back to using them to nurture life rather than harm it."_

_As the nun walked off, Palla-Palla eased over to Cerese. _

"_Don't be mad, Cere-Cere," the girl said. "Palla-Palla knows Cere-Cere only did it because she was scared. Sister Arcia-Ma'am knows it, too."_

"_Does it show that much?" Cerese asked._

"_Palla-Palla was scared, too," she added. "Father Melendez-Sir says it isn't a bad thing to be scared."_

"_That's good to know," Cerese exhaled. "I need to be with my flowers."_

* * *

"Did they kick Ramon out?" Usa asked.

"No," Cere informed them. "But he had a ton of penance to perform. Sister Arcia saw to that."

"She seems like a person who was in to that," chuckled Usa.

"And yet she didn't have him kicked out," observed Hotaru. "Was that Father Melendez's doing?"

"Both, from what I heard," grinned Jun. "Sister Arcia had a soft side that we didn't always see.

"And that was Father Melendez," Cere mused. "He thought he could reach everyone."

"And he ran into someone who really put that to the test," Jun smirked.

* * *

_The usual welcoming committee stood at the front door of Tanto Quatro Pai, waiting for the arrival of the new orphan that the facility had accepted. As Palla-Palla waited with eager anticipation, Sister Arcia leaned over to Father Melendez._

"_Are you sure about this one?" Arcia asked. "Someone with a record like that belongs in juvenile detention."_

"_Is not the true love of Jesus the extension of mercy?" Melendez replied. "Is not the mission of this orphanage to provide for those in need, to extend a chance to those who have never had one, and a second chance to those who may be redeemed?"_

"_You've said that before," Arcia answered. "We know how many of them ended up in juvenile detention anyway."_

"_You speak of those whom we failed," Melendez smiled. "I prefer to think of those with whom we succeeded."_

_Off to one side and down the hall, Jun and Cere were watching the proceedings._

"_I hope he's handsome," Cere, now fourteen and blooming into a true beauty, remarked._

"_It's a girl," Jun, approaching fourteen and her blossoming femininity concealed under a tomboy's cloak, replied._

"_How do you know?"_

"_Palla-Palla heard it, how else?" Jun smirked. "I swear, for someone with her level of intellect, she hears more things." Cere conceded._

_The Ministry hover van pulled up. Out of the vehicle stepped a caseworker, a police officer and a thirteen year old girl. She wore synthetic state-issue jeans and a blue shirt tied at the midriff. Her hair was crimson, thick and flowing down her back to her knees, her skin was a light mocha from the sun and she had a sullen look of perpetual challenge on her face. The trio marched inside the facility. The officer stopped her within three feet of the priest with a hand on her shoulder, which the girl angrily shrugged off._

"_Father," the caseworker, a tired man of fifty-five dreaming of retirement, asked, "are you sure you want this one?"_

"_She is welcome here as long as she obeys our cardinal rule of not mistreating others," Melendez nodded._

"_OK," he sighed. "Vanessa da Silva, you are now committed to the Tanto Quatro Pai Orphanage." __The officer leaned in. "See you soon, gutter rat." Vanessa ignored him. Once the two government officials were gone, Father Melendez extended his hand._

"_Welcome, Vanessa," he said. "We will try to make your stay here as comfortable as possible."_

"_Yeah, yeah," grunted Vanessa, ignoring the offered hand. "Just show me where to bunk and don't thump The Bible at me."_

"_A little respect will go a long way," warned Sister Arcia._

"_Whatever, Grandma," Vanessa scowled. Palla-Palla stepped up._

"_Palla-Palla's name is Palla-Palla," the fourteen year old girl grinned with childlike exuberance. "She's very glad to meet you. She's going to call you Ves-Ves."_

"_Whoopie," frowned Vanessa._

"_Would Ves-Ves like to play with Palla-Palla's dollies?"_

"_How about you just stay out of my way, Stupid," Vanessa replied and shoved the girl aside. She was three steps into the building when Jun appeared in her path._

"_Don't you EVER push Palla-Palla around like that!" Jun snarled, her eyes flaring with anger. Vanessa smiled mirthlessly._

"_You want to go?" Vanessa asked, hands extended from her sides as she crouched into an attack posture._

"_I'm not looking for a fight," Jun said with a steely glare. "But hurt Palla-Palla again and I will defend her."_

"_No need to wait, Green Hair," Vanessa grinned. "We can settle it right now."_

_But Melendez and Arcia interceded, Melendez herding Vanessa back while Arcia blocked any advance Jun might make. As she did, the nun turned to Vanessa. _

"_Vanessa, go with Father Melendez so we can get your education level determined," Arcia commanded. "And understand that we DO NOT tolerate fighting in this facility. Is that clear?"_

"_Wouldn't have been a fight," Vanessa said, excitement dancing in her eyes. "Would have been a massacre."_

"_I can have the Ministry van recalled if you're that eager to go to juvenile detention!" Arcia snapped._

_The grin disappeared from Vanessa's face. She glared at the nun for a few moments, then allowed Father Melendez to herd her away. Arcia turned to Jun._

"_I understand you were defending Palla-Palla," Arcia told her. "But there are other ways of dealing with adversity besides violence."_

"_Sometimes," Jun replied, following Vanessa's departure with her gaze. "Sometimes not. I spent too much time in the jungle not to know a predator when I see one."_

_The next week, after school, Cere tended to the flower beds as she often did while Jun and Palla-Palla assisted Cere with her work. Across the courtyard, the new girl was leaning against the far wall, listlessly sweeping until the nuns weren't watching. When not under observation, Vanessa would abandon her job of sweeping to chat up one of the older boys under the care of the orphanage. _

"_There she goes again," muttered Jun. "Ducking on her chores to flirt with Ramon and Luis. How does she keep getting away with it?"_

"_Probably the same way you can sense Sister Arcia approaching," Cere responded. "Her environment probably trained her to avoid authority and sense its presence, just like you can sense a predatory animal."_

"_You're saying I'm like her?" bristled Jun._

"_Only in that you don't understand plain Portuguese very well," scowled Cere. "I've heard the talk about her. She's had more than a few brushes with the law." Cere turned to Palla-Palla. "What have you heard? You're the one who knows everything about everybody."_

_Palla-Palla frowned. "Palla-Palla shouldn't say. But Ves-Ves has seen a lot of bad things and had a lot of bad things happen to her."_

"_Hey, we've all had it rough," Jun argued._

"_Not the way Ves-Ves has," Palla-Palla said quietly. "Palla-Palla hopes Father Melendez-Sir can help her."_

_Jun and Cere looked at each other curiously. Then a commotion drew their attention back toward Vanessa._

"_I SAID PISS OFF!" Vanessa snapped angrily at the boy Ramon. _

_A resident at the orphanage for four years now, Ramon was filling out into a strong, muscular male presence. His hair was black and thick, and he was passably attractive in Cere's opinion. He fancied himself more and more to be a man trapped among little kids. The nuns were finding it harder and harder to control him and the words of Father Melendez had less effect every day. Ramon had already made passes at Cere, Consuela and Anna at the school, with Cere describing him as "akin to wrestling an octopus"._

"_Hey, don't be afraid, honey," chuckled Ramon, his hand latching onto Vanessa's upper arm. "Ramon won't hurt you. Ramon will make a woman out of you."_

"_With what?" sneered Vanessa. "I doubt there's anything in your pants besides lint!"_

"_How about I show you?" Ramon said, accepting the challenge confidently._

_Already the altercation had come to the notice of Sister Arcia, who was at that moment steaming out of the main building. But before she could arrive, Vanessa lunged at the boy, driving her knee into his groin. As he doubled over in pain, Ramon was wide open and Vanessa's knee connected hard with his chin. He spun to the ground with Luis watching in astonishment and no sooner landed than Vanessa was straddling his chest and viciously pummeling him with her right fist. Luis tried to pull her off, but Vanessa swung her left fist and connected between his legs, driving the other boy off. Arcia arrived and managed to pull Vanessa off of him._

"_Enough, Vanessa!" Arcia yelled, trying to hold on to the struggling girl. Ramon lay on the ground, his face battered and swelling._

"_How'd you like that, bitch!" Vanessa bellowed angrily as Arcia pulled her away. "Real man - - I been with a real man! You ain't even good enough for someone like Rodolfo to scrap off of his boots!" And she spit at the prone boy._

"_Vanessa!" Arcia shouted, spinning the girl around to face her. "Go to my office! NOW!"_

"_Oh, you taking his side?" snarled the angry young girl._

"_Now, Vanessa!" Arcia demanded._

_Expelling a curse, Vanessa turned and stalked off. Sister Arcia noticed Palla-Palla beside her._

"_Sister Arcia-Ma'am," Palla-Palla said anxiously, "Mr. Ramon-Sir was being mean to Ves-Ves. It wasn't her fault."_

"_I know what happened, Palla-Palla," the nun assured her. She walked off for her office. As a priest and several nuns tended to Ramon, Jun and Cere joined Palla-Palla._

"_Suppose she just punched a one-way ticket out of here?" Jun wondered._

"_And wouldn't that be a big loss," Cere scowled._

"_I wonder who Rodolfo is," Jun said._

_Palla-Palla only watched with growing anxiety._

_In Sister Arcia's office, Vanessa slumped in a chair with her arms folded over her chest. Once more life had kicked her in the behind. She figured Sister Arcia was already on the phone to the Children's Welfare Ministry and she would be in juvy by the end of the day. Well, so what? She could take it. She could take anything that life threw at her. Hadn't she already survived her father murdering her mother? Hadn't she already survived seeing him gunned down by the police? Hadn't she survived holding Rodolfo's cold, dead hand in hers? Hadn't she survived Marcelino's goons? So what if she ended up in juvy?_

_What did it matter?_

_The door hissed open and she looked up, expecting to see Sister Arcia. Instead, Father Melendez entered._

"_I was defending myself!" Vanessa said pre-emptively. "Somebody had to teach that little sh*t some respect!"_

"_And you accepted the mission," Melendez commented._

"_I wouldn't have done it for anyone else," Vanessa huffed._

"_Sister Arcia explained to me what happened," Melendez told her. "I'm sure Ramon crossed the line. He's done it before."_

"_Bet he won't do it again."_

"_And perhaps he will," suggested Melendez. "Or perhaps your actions will have other consequences, ones which you have yet to guess. Every action we take is like dropping a pebble into a pond. Ripples fan out from that action. Sometimes they strike something and are reflected back upon us. Reflected in ways we weren't expecting. Have you heard the proverb 'As ye sow, so shall ye reap'?"_

"_Heard this one? F*ck you," Vanessa replied._

_Rather than get angry, though, Melendez grinned. "Sadly, I have. It's usually uttered by people who are too weak to tread the path of peace. It takes more strength to extend a hand than it does to ball a fist."_

"_Hmph!" sneered the redhead._

"_Vanessa, violence can become a lifestyle and such a lifestyle can only lead to destruction," Melendez counseled. "Do you want to spend your entire life fighting?"_

"_Why not? It's all I've done up until now. Do what you're good at."_

"_But you could be good at other things," Melendez told her._

"_Look, just tell me when the van shows up to haul me to juvy!" Vanessa spat. "Save the 'peace and love' crap for these other suckers!"_

"_We're not sending you away," Melendez informed her, to her surprise. "All you'll learn in juvenile detention is how to remain violent. Here you have a chance to be something more. I want you to have that chance. I see something in you that can save you from the path you're on now. But you have to embrace it, Vanessa. The gift of a better future is sitting right in front of you. It all depends on whether you have the courage to accept it."_

_Outwardly, Vanessa gave the priest a cynical look. But inside, part of her wanted to believe that she had the chance at something better. She wanted to believe that this priest wasn't just feeding her a line to get her compliance. She wanted to believe._

Continued in Chapter 11


	11. The Glass Half Full

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 11: "The Glass Half Full"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"Boy, that sure sounds like Ves when she first showed up at the Palace," chuckled Usa, shaking her head. The five friends were still en route to the funeral chapel.

"You think she was bad at the Palace?" Jun scoffed. "You should have seen her when she first arrived at Quatro Pai! I thought she was one false step away from doing hard time in prison for killing someone."

"I still think it," sniffed Cere. Palla-Palla gave her a reproachful look, for the teen knew she didn't really mean it.

"So what changed her?" Usa asked.

"Father Melendez," Jun replied. "And Palla-Palla."

* * *

_Vanessa lay in her bunk in the dormitory, bored out of her mind. The entertainment room video didn't interest her. Neither did school work. Neither did reading or any of the games the other children played. And none of the other girls would go near her. That was fine with her, but it didn't relieve her boredom._

_She wanted to vault the wall, look up Sancha and go back to the life she knew, surviving on the streets. But she knew if she did and the police caught her, it would be a ticket straight to juvenile detention. And, as bad as this place was, it was still better than juvenile detention._

_At once, Vanessa noticed a presence next to her bunk. Glancing over, she found the strange girl, Palla-Palla, standing there staring at her. It gave Vanessa the creeps._

"_What do you want?" the redhead growled._

"_Palla-Palla is sorry Ves-Ves's daddy was mean to her," the girl offered._

"_He got his," Vanessa grunted._

"_Palla-Palla doesn't understand why mommies and daddies can be mean to their babies," Palla-Palla said. "Palla-Palla knew this girl once. Her mommy did terrible things to her. It was so bad that she wanted to die."_

"_Am I supposed to care?"_

"_Palla-Palla is just trying to understand. She's not very smart."_

"_No kidding."_

"_And Palla-Palla is sorry for what happened to Mr. Rodolfo-Sir," the teen added._

"_What do you know about it?" snapped Vanessa, her anger flaring. She swung her legs over the side of the bunk, but Palla-Palla didn't give ground. She didn't even seem frightened._

"_Palla-Palla knows you liked him - - a lot," she admitted. "Palla-Palla knows Ves-Ves is mad because she couldn't save him."_

"_How?" Vanessa demanded._

"_She heard it," Palla-Palla offered innocently._

"_Damn priests gossiping about me," scowled Vanessa. "Well you just forget what you heard! Don't mention Rodolfo to anybody - - especially me!"_

"_But Palla-Palla doesn't understand. Why doesn't Ves-Ves want to remember Mr. Rodolfo-Sir?"_

"_You're probably too stupid to understand it anyway, Stupid," Vanessa grumbled._

"_Why does Ves-Ves call Palla-Palla 'Stupid'? Her name is Palla-Palla. Is Palla-Palla too hard for Ves-Ves to say?"_

"_Piss off," Vanessa growled and turned over in her bunk._

"_If Ves-Ves wants a friend, Palla-Palla will be her friend. Ves-Ves doesn't have to be lonely."_

"_I said 'Piss off'!" Vanessa turned around and shoved Palla-Palla away. She caught sight of Jun across the room, glaring at her. "Any time, jungle girl," Vanessa smirked._

_Reluctantly Palla-Palla moved away. Jun met her at the teen's bunk._

"_Why are you even trying to make friends with her?" Jun asked. "It's like trying to make friends with an anaconda."_

"_Mr. Jesus-Sir says we're supposed to be nice to each other," Palla-Palla said. "And Ves-Ves needs some nice really bad."_

* * *

_Even in a building that was as old and antiquated as Tanto Quatro Pai, the pneumatic doors had computerized magnetic locks. They weren't state of the art, but they functioned. _

_And they were a cinch to bi-pass if someone knew how. And Vanessa had known how since she was seven. Pressed up against the door, her eyes darting right and left for signs of trouble, Vanessa tried to be inconspicuous while her fingers manipulated the circuits in the maintenance hatch. There was a genuine risk of electric shock for someone less skilled at breaking and entering than she was. Since she was so skilled, the door hissed open and Vanessa silently slid into the room._

_The girl walked directly over to Father Melendez's desk, tapped on his computer station, then pulled up the weekly soccer match. No one else in the orphanage wanted to watch soccer on the one video terminal the orphanage had, except for Ramon and she was experienced enough to give him a wide berth. So, rather than do without, Vanessa had been helping herself to the computer in Father Melendez's office for the past six weeks to watch "Match of the Week". She knew Melendez was always off property ritually traveling somewhere at this time of the day, so it was natural to take advantage of the opportunity. Why do without when you didn't have to had always been her philosophy._

_Sao Paulo Athletic Club had been in a tough match with Rio de Janeiro. It was one/nil Rio in the eight-seventh minute and Vanessa was silently urging Sao Paulo on with that mixture of rage and desperation so many futbol fans exhibited in tight games. So focused was she on the match that she didn't hear anyone approach until the door hissed open. Father Melendez stood framed in the doorway and for a moment he was very surprised. But not as surprised as Vanessa was._

"_I didn't take nothing!" she coughed out, springing from the chair. Vanessa backed away as the priest walked over to the desk. He peered at the computer screen._

"_Who's winning?" Melendez asked calmly._

"_You ain't mad?" Vanessa asked. "You ain't pissed? I-I broke into your office."_

"_You don't seem to have done it with malicious intent," Melendez began gently. "Of course, you could have asked."_

"_I thought you'd say 'no'."_

"_I might have," Melendez replied. "Or I might not have. You didn't bother to find out. You didn't bother to respect me."_

_Vanessa bristled._

"_I know you're not used to respecting people," Melendez continued. "But respecting people can work wonders in co-existing with them. It won't always get you what you want, but it can get you more than stealing it from them."_

"_I didn't steal . . .!" _

"_GOAL!" Melendez gasped. Vanessa looked at the stream. Melendez was already looking. Sao Paulo had tied the match. Vanessa saw Melendez perform a very un-priest-like maneuver of triumph._

"_You follow futbol?" Vanessa asked in shock. _

"_I played when I was a boy," Melendez admitted. "I know you find it hard to believe, but I was a boy once. You root for Sao Paulo?"_

"_Sure. I'm no sucker," Vanessa replied. Melendez gestured her to the chair._

"_Then I probably would have said yes," he suggested. Warily Vanessa sat down. "After all, one shouldn't disrespect a fellow Sao Paulo fan. Let's finish the match. Maybe after they win, you can fill me in on what happened earlier."_

_And an unlikely pair shared an unanticipated passion._

"_You played?" Vanessa asked as they watched stoppage time. "Were you any good?"_

"_Why do you think I'm a priest?" Melendez replied._

* * *

_More time passed, far too slowly for Vanessa. On the one hand, she longed to be free of this place. And yet, part of her had come to appreciate the familiarity and the dependable structure. There were down sides, of course. One afternoon Vanessa was walking down the hall to the girl's dormitory. She had just endured another lecture from Sister Arcia about her poor and inattentive school work. It had taken all the self-control she could muster not to punch the sixty-two year old nun. But out of respect for Father Melendez, she'd managed. _

_It wasn't the first time she and Sister Arcia had butted heads. Vanessa had no use for authority, no use for the other priests and nuns who worked at the orphanage, and especially no use for Sister Arcia. At first she'd had no use for Father Melendez. But he was different. He didn't try to restrict her. He tried to guide her, but left the decisions in her life to her. She'd never experienced that. Her father had beaten her. The police had bullied her. The other kids on the street would steal from her if she allowed it. But Father Melendez only wanted what was best for her. She still couldn't understand why; maybe some day she would._

"_Ves-Ves!" came an urgent hiss. Vanessa glanced and found Palla-Palla waiting in a doorway. She crept over to Vanessa. "Ves-Ves needs to watch for Mister Ramon-Sir. Mister Ramon-Sir wants to hurt Ves-Ves for what she did to him."_

"_Suppose you heard this?" Vanessa asked skeptically. Palla-Palla nodded. "Thanks for the tip, Stupid."_

"_Ves-Ves needs to be careful!" Palla-Palla said urgently._

"_No, Ramon's the one who needs to be careful," Vanessa sneered._

_She continued down the hall. Turning a corner, Ramon stepped out and blocked her path. The pair had avoided each other since the beating Vanessa had given him months ago. But the time hadn't cooled the venomous hatred in his eyes._

"_So we going to dance?" Vanessa asked with as much bravado as she could muster. "You sure you're up to it?"_

"_I was going to give you a chance to apologize first," Ramon replied with naked loathing, "bitch."_

"_Then I guess we're going," Vanessa countered, her chin out. "Or are you going to talk me to death?_

_At the last instant, she pivoted and swung her elbow back, catching Manuel on the chin before he could grab her from behind. The impact knocked the teen to the floor, but it left her open for Ramon. He lunged forward and swung a stick at her, narrowly avoiding her face. Ramon swung again and this time Vanessa could see the piece of metal embedded in the stick. No doubt it was honed to a cutting edge._

_Rather than continue to dodge, Vanessa charged and drove her shoulder into Ramon with all of the violence she could muster. He staggered back, but he didn't fall and brought his forearm down across her back like a club. The blow knocked Vanessa to the floor. Ramon towered over her on her hands and knees. He drew back the stick to slash at her again._

_Viciously Vanessa slammed her right palm into the side of Ramon's knee. The joint bent awkwardly, ripping an exclamation of pain as the burly youth toppled. But as she got to her feet, Vanessa was seized from behind by Manuel. He locked his arms around her chest from behind and pulled her backwards. Though her feet could touch the floor, Vanessa could get no traction. Her arms were at awkward angles and couldn't muster a counter._

_Ramon got to his feet and limped over. His hatred of her increased with each spasm of pain that shot through his knee. The stick was in his right hand, back and ready to slash. Struggling like a trapped animal, Vanessa kicked at Ramon while she wriggled in Manuel's grasp. Ramon brushed the kick aside, then brought the stick up and slashed._

"_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" shrieked Palla-Palla as the cutting metal slashed across her upper arm. _

_Her shriek of pain echoed through the halls of the orphanage. Ramon stared in shock. He hadn't seen Palla-Palla until she had suddenly injected herself between him and Vanessa, shoving her and Manuel aside. Manuel was so stunned that he let Vanessa go. Vanessa was stunned as well, but not into inaction. She lunged and kicked Ramon's bad knee hard. He howled in pain again and crumpled to the floor, the stick skittering away. As priests, nuns and residents came out into the hall to see what had happened, Vanessa looked down at Palla-Palla. Her upper arm was gushing blood and she was wailing and crying in pain. Vanessa just stared in shock and confusion as a crowd gathered. Finally Father Piniero shoved her aside and knelt down. Using his jacket as a makeshift tourniquet, Piniero squelched the bleeding long enough for Palla-Palla to be taken to the infirmary. _

_Numbly Vanessa followed after the contingent caring for Palla-Palla._

* * *

_A hand pressed down on the magnetic lock on the door to Father Piniero's room. The door responded and Father Melendez quietly entered the room. _

_Laying in bed was Palla-Palla. She was sleeping. A wrapping was on her upper arm, covering the laser sutures that closed the girl's wounds. Father Piniero had volunteered his bedroom because the infirmary wasn't equipped for overnight stays. _

_Sitting beside the bed, silently staring at the sleeping girl was Vanessa. Father Melendez entered, closed the door and walked over to the chair Vanessa was sitting in. _

"_Dr. Alcala told me he was able to close the wound," Melendez said gently. Vanessa didn't acknowledge him. "She may have a faint scar. Our equipment isn't as modern as they have in the State Hospital."_

_Vanessa continued to stare at Palla-Palla._

"_Ramon has been remanded to the Juvenile Authority," Melendez continued. "What he did - - there is no place for that here. He has proven to me that I am unable to save him. Perhaps someone else can."_

"_When do they come for me?" Vanessa asked, her voice choked with emotion._

"_Should they?"_

"_I gave as good as I got," Vanessa replied. "He came after me. I defended myself." Vanessa's throat seemed to swell with emotion. "She had no business being in the middle of it."_

"_We cannot always control the ripples we create," Melendez said. Vanessa whirled around in her chair and stared at him. "Sometimes they wash up on foreign shores."_

"_You're saying this is my fault?" Vanessa asked harshly, turning back to Palla-Palla._

"_As you said," Melendez replied, "she had no business being in the middle. Your fault? You didn't force her. You didn't ask her."_

"_THEN WHY?" Vanessa sobbed, then shut up because she was betraying too much emotion. Her chest heaved while Melendez patiently waited for her. "Why did she do it?" Vanessa asked finally._

"_Why did she try to protect you?"_

"_I didn't ask her to!" Vanessa hissed, her teeth clenched to the point the muscles in her jaw stood out. "I didn't need her help! I don't need anybody's help! She wouldn't have got nothing out of it! Why?"_

"_Because Palla-Palla is special," Melendez tried to explain. "She does not hate. She seems incapable of hating for very long. She is as filled with God's love as anyone I have ever met. And she seeks to share that love with all in need."_

"_Sh*t," huffed Vanessa, wiping her cheeks with the heels of her hands. "More Bible talk. Just your way of saying she's too stupid to keep her nose out."_

"_No," Melendez said. "It's my way of saying that she is smart enough to see someone who was in need of God's love and she offered it, since her cup runneth over. Is it the mark of intelligence to try to help those in need, or to think that violence solves our problems?" _

_Vanessa stared at Palla-Palla silently. As the door opened, Melendez glanced back and found Jun and Cere peeking in. He waved them in._

"_How is she?" Jun asked anxiously._

"_Sleeping," Melendez assured them. "She suffered a nasty cut, but she'll be all right."_

"_And what if it happens again?" Vanessa suddenly asked._

"_If she stays away from you, it probably won't," Jun groused._

"_Nah," Vanessa shook her head. "Someone like her, she's a target. She's a mark. Folks look for people like her, look at them as easy marks. I know." She fell silent. "Somebody's got to look out for her. Somebody's got to protect her. She can't protect herself. Not as long as she's going to try to help people who don't deserve her help."_

"_You mean someone like you?" Cere said pointedly._

"_Yeah!" snapped Vanessa. "Someone like me. She tried to help me out. Look what it got her. She needs someone to look out for her."_

"_I look out for her," bristled Jun._

"_Then you do a lousy job!" spat Vanessa. "From now on, I'll look out for her."_

"_You?" gasped Jun. But Father Melendez stepped in._

"_Perhaps we should let Palla-Palla decide," he suggested._

* * *

_Vanessa entered Father Piniero's room accompanied by Father Melendez. Jun and Cere were already there. Palla-Palla was awake and chatting with them. When they all turned to the door, Vanessa got indifference from the other two girls, but Palla-Palla gave her a beaming smile._

"_How you doing?" Vanessa asked.._

"_Palla-Palla is feeling much better, thank you very much," the girl chirped. "Is Ves-Ves going to stay and visit?"_

"_Not for long. I got things to do. Got to get Sister Arcia off my back," Vanessa said. "I just - - that wasn't a very smart thing you did."_

"_But Ves-Ves needed help," Palla-Palla replied._

"_Well don't go doing stuff like that again or you'll end up back here or worse," Vanessa told her. "From now on, I'm going to look out for you."_

_Palla-Palla seemed surprised, but also happy._

"_Someone like you don't know how to take care of herself," rambled Vanessa. "You need someone to protect you when you act stupid."_

"_Don't call her 'stupid'!" hissed Jun._

"_It's all right," Palla-Palla smiled innocently. "Ves-Ves can't say Palla-Palla's name right, just like Palla-Palla can't say Jun-Jun's real name. But Ves-Ves is trying to be Palla-Palla's friend, so it's all right."_

_Jun looked at her in shock, then shook her head in defeat._

"_Anyway," Vanessa continued, "I got to go. I'll catch you later. You do what the doctor tells you so you can get well."_

"_Yes, Ves-Ves, Palla-Palla will do that," the girl nodded warmly._

_Out in the hall, Vanessa exhaled, her mind reeling. Father Melendez waited for her to speak._

"_It's like having a kid sister," Vanessa marveled._

"_It can be, sometimes," Melendez smiled._

"_OK, you told me why she does it," Vanessa looked up at him. "Why do you do it? What do you get out of it?"_

"_A better world," Melendez replied. "We're each trying to survive as best we can. I try to enrich the lives of others so they in turn can make the world better and, by doing so, make mine better. You see, Vanessa, we are all interdependent upon each other. But not all of us realize it. It depends upon your world view, I suppose. I see the world as a cup half full, and I try to fill it. You see it as half empty and try to drink your share before someone else empties it."_

"_Drink? I'd probably boost the cup," Vanessa added ruefully. Chuckling, Melendez patted the girl on the shoulder._

* * *

The limousine came to a stop. So did the conversation. Cere glanced out the window.

"Well," she sighed. "We're here."

Concluded in Chapter 12

.


	12. Gone

AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU  
Chapter 12: "Gone"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

The five teens exited their hover limo and looked up at St. Francis Cathedral. Built in 2906, it was the oldest and most ornate church in Sao Paulo. The roof stood three stories above the ground and the bell spire at the front of the church was another three stories above the roof. Ornate stained glass windows and a grand twelve foot tall pair of doors fashioned from lacquered cherry wood suggested a palace more than a house of worship. Usa had to admit she was impressed. Noticing that the Asteroids were hanging back, Usa led them up to the door. Ushers bowed to them and opened the doors.

"Wow," Hotaru exhaled in awe at the luscious, spacious interior. It was as rich and ornate as the exterior. But what impressed Usa was the amount of people already there. The cathedral could house a thousand people and there were easily that many here.

"Should we sit down?" Usa asked Cere. "It doesn't look like they're ready to start yet."

Before she could answer, a woman approached them. She was about twenty-one and had long straight black hair and deep dark pools for eyes. While possessing a comely face and figure, she also had a hint to her expression that spoke more of a dark past than a somber present. As she approached, Usa noticed a scar across her throat.

"Palla-Palla?" the woman inquired, stopping at a respectful distance from them. The object of her question turned and stared for a moment, then brightened.

"It's Linda-Linda!" Palla-Palla gasped. The others seemed puzzled. "Linda-Linda! The girl Palla-Palla was talking about! The one whose Mommy did . . ." and Palla-Palla's eyes grew wide, "oh. Palla-Palla is sorry."

"It's all right," Belinda gave her a melancholy smile. "It happened. I can't change that, so I had to learn to deal with it. Fortunately I did - - thanks to Father Melendez. He visited me at the State Hospital once a week. Between him and my doctor, I was able to come to terms with what happened." She reached out and grasped Palla-Palla's hand. "But I wouldn't have gotten that chance if it wasn't for you. Father Melendez told me that you and Sister Arcia found me when I tried to hang myself. I got this second chance because of you - - and after I was so mean to you."

"Palla-Palla knew Linda-Linda was hurting," Palla-Palla smiled innocently. "She understood. And she's glad Linda-Linda is all better now."

"I was hoping you'd come, so I could thank you in person," Belinda continued. She darkened. "I'm just - - sorry it had to be for something like this."

After Belinda moved off, Cere and Jun put their hands on Palla-Palla's shoulders. The girl looked up at them and beamed.

"Man, Father Melendez was right about you, Palla-Palla," Ves said, viewing the proceedings from Jun's PDA. "I don't believe any of that God crap, but you sure got something!"

"Hey, there's somebody else coming up," Usa said, nodding to their right. "Oh, that's got to be Sister Arcia. She looks just like everybody described her."

Approaching them was a squat woman, thin and walking with a cane. She was sixty-six and wore a black Catholic veil over her head, though she wore a modern dress and shoes. Beside her was a twelve year old girl with shoulder length black hair, wide wondrous eyes and an ensemble that marked her as a resident of Tanto Quatro Pai. She tried to smile, but eyed Cere nervously.

"Hello Cerese, Aysiri, Palla-Palla," the nun smiled warmly, more warmly than any of them could remember. "I was hoping you three could come. You remember Carmen, don't you?"

"I thought that was you," grinned Jun. "How are you doing, Carmen?"

"I'm going to start middle school this fall!" Carmen exclaimed. "And at St. Joseph's Academy, not at the orphanage!"

"Wow! That's impressive!" Jun nodded.

"Sister Arcia helped me get in," Carmen explained. "She even escorts me to school and back to Quatro Pai."

"Palla-Palla is so happy for Car-Car!" Palla-Palla squealed.

"It's good to hear," Cere told her. "You've certainly come a long way." The words seemed to ease some of Carmen's apprehension and her chest swelled.

"She's not the only one who has come a long way," Sister Arcia said. "Some of us follow the news streams of what you three are doing in Japan. You've exceeded all of our expectations. You three have made something truly monumental of your lives." Her mouth twisted into a smirk. "Vanessa I'm still not certain about."

"Thanks a lot, Grandma," came a dour voice from Jun's PDA.

"Ves has come a long way, too, Sister," Usa spoke up kindly.

"Due entirely to your influence I'm sure, Princess," Arcia replied. "Girls, you've made me very proud of you all. And Father Melendez was very proud, too. When we got together, he always spoke of you four, especially after you took your jobs in Japan. And though he was quite proud, somehow he wasn't surprised."

Cere began to tear up. "It's just so terrible that it had to happen to him." Sister Arcia came over and embraced the girl.

"We mustn't be bitter, Cerese," Arcia told her. "Father Melendez did enough good in his life for three lifetimes. And the Holy Father, in His mercy, decided that he deserved to rest."

The ceremony itself lasted nearly four hours. The cathedral was packed past capacity with mourners and after Cardinal Ibanez gave the eulogy, fifty people came up one by one to speak in glowing terms about how Father Joseph Melendez had changed their lives for the better.

When the service finally ended, Father Melendez's body was taken to the cemetery, a function attended only by church personnel. Usa and her party got into the hover limo and headed back to the hotel.

"So many stories about him," marveled Hotaru. "I really wish I could have met him now."

"I only knew him for less than a year," Ves said over the PDA, "and he changed my life. I think he was the first adult who ever gave a damn about me."

"One thing I don't understand," Usa wondered. "If you all liked Father Melendez so much, why did you run away from the orphanage?"

* * *

"_You really think this is going to make me look hot?" Ves asked._

_For her fourteenth birthday, Ves was receiving a hair styling courtesy of Cere. It had been Palla-Palla's idea to get Ves a present, though the hair styling was Cere's idea. Jun had been skeptical, as had Ves when presented with the idea, but Cere saw it as a challenge._

"_Well," Cere replied as she worked with the girl's crimson tresses, "at least it'll make you look like a girl now."_

"_If it makes her look human, it'll be a major victory," Jun jabbed. In the dormitory, several of the other girls watched in fascination as Cere worked her magic on "The Ogre of Quatro Pai."_

"_I don't want nothing that'll slow me down or get in the way," Ves warned. "A pony tail is fine."_

"_It's a pony tail," Cere assured her, "sort of. But it's much more eye-catching."_

"_I don't know," Ves murmured._

"_Afraid you'll be too easy to identify?" smirked Jun._

"_Afraid I'll come over there and bust you one?" Ves shot back._

"_Palla-Palla thinks the gold rings are very pretty," Palla-Palla said._

"_They do augment your look," Cere agreed. "So where did you steal them?"_

"_I didn't steal them!" snapped Ves. "I bought them! Got a good deal, too."_

"_Then they're probably hot," Jun scowled._

"_Hey, ask no questions and you don't have to lie to the cops later."_

"_So where did you get the money?" Cere asked as she worked the mound of hair._

"_Borrowed a thousand pesos from Father Melendez," Ves outlined. "Snuck out last Saturday night. Ran it into twenty-five thousand in a crap game I knew."_

"_Figures," sighed Cere._

"_Did he know about it?" Jun asked cynically._

"_What he don't know won't hurt him," Ves shrugged._

"_Ves-Ves stole from Father Melendez-Sir?" gasped Palla-Palla._

"_I put his thousand pesos back!" Ves protested. "It's only stealing if you keep it!"_

_Palla-Palla looked puzzled for a moment. "Cere-Cere, is that right?"_

"_Not if she says it," Cere muttered._

"_You about done?" Ves bristled._

"_You can't rush art," huffed Cere. Ves glared at her. "Oh, all right! It's done!"_

_Ves bolted out of her chair and ran into the restroom. The others followed her in and found Ves looking in the mirror over the sink. Her hair had been pulled up so that three circular mounds sat atop her head, divided by the two gold and jeweled rings. The remainder was gathered and ran behind her like a rope, the rope ending in a decorative ball. A smile was curling on the girl's face._

"_Hey," Ves began, lights dancing in her eyes. "This is ice! I don't look like anybody else! You know your sh*t!"_

"_I'll take that as a compliment," scowled Cere._

"_Ooh, Ves-Ves looks so pretty!" cooed Palla-Palla._

"_Got to admit, you sure look different," Jun confessed._

"_Bet the upkeep on this is going to be a b*tch," Ves judged. Then she smiled again. "But it's worth it!"_

"_Girls!" they all heard Sister Arcia call out from the next room. "Please come in here! I have something to tell you all!"_

"_Wonder what she wants," Jun said._

"_She's probably found a way to cancel fun," muttered Ves._

_When all of the girls who resided in the dormitory were gathered, Sister Arcia began. Suddenly Palla-Palla gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Several girls glanced at her, but everyone just attributed it to Palla-Palla being Palla-Palla._

"_It's my sad duty to tell you all," Sister Arcia said, her own personal dismay peeking through her business-like mask, "that Father Melendez is leaving the orphanage."_

* * *

_The sad day arrived. Melendez stood in the girl's dormitory and said a personal farewell to each resident of the orphanage. He had already spoken with the staff in the offices and with the male residents in the boy's dormitory. One by one the girls came up, listened to the priest's words of comfort and encouragement, and tried with varied success to communicate how they felt about him. By the time Palla-Palla made it up to him, the girl was in tears._

"_But Palla-Palla doesn't want Father Melendez-Sir to go!" she wailed. Father Melendez knelt down to eye level with the fifteen year old._

"_And I don't wish to leave you, Palla-Palla," he told her. "I have been truly blessed to have known you for nine years. God speaks through you, Palla-Palla. His charity lives in you. But the Diocese has decided that I am needed elsewhere, to bring aid and comfort to those more in need than you. It is God's plan."_

"_But Father Melendez-Sir isn't going to be able to say hello to Palla-Palla's mommy when she comes for her," the girl whimpered._

"_Then you must tell her all about me," Melendez smiled and kissed her on the cheek, "when she does come."_

_Reluctantly Palla-Palla moved off, prodded gently by Sister Arcia. Jun was next._

"_Father," Jun began, fighting back tears, "I owe so much to you. You taught me how to survive in this world. And you let me find my own way. You're . . ." and she choked up for a moment, ". . .as important to me as Mi Padre was. I don't know how I can thank you."_

"_Pay it forward, Aysiri," Melendez offered. "Give to the next person you find in need what I gave you. You owe me nothing. Seeing you grow up as you have is sufficient."_

_Jun nodded and moved away. Cere was next._

"_I'm sorry to see you go, Father," the girl said. "You were an anchor when I was adrift. You gave me something to hold onto when everything had been taken from me." She looked down sheepishly. "And you kind of opened my eyes to the way some of the less fortunate in life think and feel and what they have to go through. That there are things out in the world besides fashion and art and parties; that some people are just trying to make it from day to day."_

"_And what will you do with your new-found vision, now that your eyes have been opened?" Melendez asked._

"_Whatever I can to help," Cere told him._

"_You make me proud, Cerese," Melendez smiled. "I shall miss you."_

_Cere moved to join the others. Melendez reached for his bag, but as he straightened, he realized that he hadn't spoken with one girl. Scanning the room, he found Ves sitting on her bunk, arms folded over her chest and a bitter look on her face. The priest walked over. Ves glanced up at him, but said nothing._

"_I'm sorry, Vanessa," Melendez said gently. "I would stay if I was able."_

"_Yeah," frowned Ves. "Never fails; get something good in your life and somebody takes it away from you."_

"_It is an unfortunate aspect of life," Melendez offered. "Sometimes God takes from us to test whether we are strong enough not to descend into sin. And sometimes good things are taken from us because others are in greater need." _

"_Hmph! More Bible crap," muttered Ves._

"_Stay strong, Vanessa," Melendez said. "I hope we will see each other again some day."_

_The priest turned to leave. But he only took two steps before Ves spoke up._

"_Hey, Father," Ves said suddenly. He turned to her and her eyes sought the floor. "I don't say this about a lot of people, because it usually ain't true. But . . .you're all right."_

"_Thank you, Vanessa," Melendez smiled, his eyes misting up. "You're all right, too."_

_And he was gone._

* * *

_The months after the departure of Father Melendez were not good ones at Tanto Quatro Pai. His replacement was a priest who valued ambition above compassion, order above flexibility and bible quotations above understanding and patience. Moral dropped among the staff, because his expectations superseded reality. Moral also dropped among the orphans residing there, because a home had suddenly turned into living quarters, a nurturing safe haven into a warehouse._

_It was in this environment that Jun and Cere walked into the girl's dormitory to find Ves hastily packing what few belongings she had into a pillowcase. Palla-Palla stood next to Ves and the look of distress on the teen was visible from the door._

"_Going somewhere?" Cere inquired. As the oldest one in the clique, she had assumed a mentor's role in the group, a role Ves disputed at every opportunity._

"_Yeah, I'm blowing this place!" Ves snapped._

"_Who did you get into a fight with now?" sighed Jun._

"_Pab-Pab!" Palla-Palla said, her voice thick with anxiety._

"_Ves, what did you do?" Cere asked warily._

"_Pablo was teasing Palla-Palla," Ves stopped and turned to them. "Saying some really nasty stuff. I moved in and told him to shut it." She went back to packing. "He was too stupid to take the advice."_

"_Ves-Ves beat Pab-Pab up," sobbed Palla-Palla. "She beat him up bad. She beat him up really bad!"_

"_How bad?" Cere asked._

"_I didn't stop to take his temperature!" Ves growled. "It ain't my fault he can't fight!"_

"_Ves, he's twelve," Jun exclaimed._

"_Then he shouldn't put out vouchers his ass can't back!" Ves retorted. She pulled up the pillowcase she'd packed her belongings in and turned to go._

"_But Ves-Ves can't go!" Palla-Palla cried. "She promised to protect Palla-Palla!"_

"_I can't, Palla-Palla!" Ves told her. "If I don't run, they're going to send me to juvy! Either way, I'm gone!"_

"_But what is Palla-Palla going to do?" she wailed. _

_Ves stopped and ground her teeth._

"_You can come with me," Ves said finally._

"_Are you insane? Palla-Palla live on the streets with you?" Cere gasped._

"_You got a better idea, Priss?" barked Ves._

"_Look, if it's bad enough that they'll ship you to juvenile detention, then the police will be looking for you," reasoned Jun. "And don't give me that 'they'll never find me' crap. They found you once. That's how you ended up here." Jun took a reluctant breath. "But I know a place."_

"_Where?" Ves asked._

"_The Amazon basin," Jun replied. "There are parts of it near enough to cities to be safe from the animals and remote enough to avoid detection. And I grew up there. I can show you two how to survive out there."_

"_Go back to living in the jungle?" gasped Cere._

"_Yeah, it's not where I saw myself a year ago," Jun replied. "But ever since Father Melendez left, this place isn't any prize. And I - - kind of want to look out for Palla-Palla too."_

_Ves stared at Jun._

"_OK. Take whatever you need to take, but we have to move quick," Ves told her. Jun nodded and scurried to her bunk._

"_You three have lost it!" huffed Cere._

"_She's right. This place is a hole since Father Melendez left. There's nothing keeping us here," Ves said. "You want in?"_

"_Live in the jungle?" Cere asked, aghast._

"_Please, Cere-Cere?" Palla-Palla whimpered. "Palla-Palla knows she's asking a lot but Cere-Cere is her family now, just like Jun-Jun and Ves-Ves. And Palla-Palla doesn't want to leave Cere-Cere behind! Please?"_

"_I thought you had to stay here and wait for your mom?" Cere asked pointedly._

_Palla-Palla's face crumpled up and Cere instantly felt terrible. "Palla-Palla knows her mommy isn't coming for her. That's why she wants Cere-Cere to come, because she doesn't have anybody else."_

_Cere stared down at Palla-Palla dubiously._

"_Make up your mind, Priss," Ves added. "You know I'm right about this dump. Even Sister Arcia can't save it. How much worse would the jungle be?"_

"_It's got all sorts of plants and flowers," Jun offered, a pillowcase slung over her shoulder._

_Cere sighed and closed her eyes. _

_ Three eyes watched her with anticipation and dread. _

"_I am going to regret this for the rest of my life," she sighed again. "Fine."_

"_Yay!" Palla-Palla exclaimed and scrambled off to stuff some things into a pillowcase._

"_Just take essentials," Jun warned. She turned to Ves. "You have any credits? We'll need transportation to the basin."_

"_I figure we just boost a hover car," Ves shrugged. Jun was shocked at first, but her expression soon changed to anticipation._

"_I'm piloting," Jun grinned. _

Concluded


End file.
